


Nohva

by Kaoz



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Angel, Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-12
Updated: 2013-06-12
Packaged: 2017-12-14 18:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/840063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaoz/pseuds/Kaoz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They tried to end magic and it bit them in the ass. Literally, figuraitvely and boy do they pay for a stupid mistake... Some, more than others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back to the Futured

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after the seires end onf Dark Angel, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and set somewhere in S3 of Supernatural - mentions of it anyway- and AU after S8.

The sky is a brilliant blue where it peeks through the canopy of leaves and she squints trying to keep the glare from blinding her. The silence is deafening and strange when there had been the sounds of battle not a second ago. Her hand closes on the hilt of her gladius and Nohva pushes up to a sitting position. She drags in another breath forcing her stomach to settle itself because she can't afford to puke when they're still on her ass. The silence is her friend and as Nohva gets to her feet, the crunch of leaves and brittle twigs is the only warning she gets before the attack comes.

**N**

Zane has at least another hour before he's relieved of duty. So far it has been quiet; nothing has changed in the last six years since they've made peace with the government. **_TerminalCity_** has been their prison though he's the last to say so out-loud with so many ears capable of hearing the slightest whisper. The only deviation to the routine are the OP's they're called out for- all part of that 'treaty'.

The breeze coming off The Sound carries a strangely familiar odor. Zane sniffs, nostrils flaring only to crinkle and he's wishing his sense of smell weren't so great. "Blood." It's the same metallic scent and his mouth is flooded with the phantom coppery taste. He pauses in his walk, the crunch of pebbles under his boots cease and he 'looks', his eyes searching out the shore. A mile away he spots something different, it only takes him a few seconds to cover the distance. He stops at the edge of the water and while stranger things have happened he's not sure what he finds could fall in that category. In the water, the patch of turquoise that caught his eye in the first place turns out to be a person.

"An ordinary." Zane mutters and looks up to scan the shore. An ordinary in their backyard? The likely scenario is that someone dumped her at their backdoor hoping to start another 'war'. He wades is grimacing against the cold, he's thigh deep and happy not to go any further. Her arm is hooked on the post from what used to be part of the old docks and that's kept her head above water. Reaching through the strands of wet hair Zane is surprised to find she's got a pulse, very faint and slow. The blood he smelled is all around her, faint pink stain with some bits he can't begin to explain in shades of dark blue and green. The tail end of the hasty bandage tied around her waist flutters in the water. Zane slips his arms beneath her, lifting the unconscious ordinary out of the water and getting back to land.

**N**

The room shifts in and out of focus. The white walls unnerve her as do the sounds- it's one of the 'bonuses' she still hasn't completely gotten used to. When Nohva tries to lift her head it feels like a lump of lead but the cause for her lethargy drips into the clear tube hanging somewhere out of her direct line of sight.

_'Hate needles.'_

Her fingers fumble but she finds the IV stuck in her arm and pulls it free. When she opens her eyes again she's not sure how much time has passed. The room is still fuzzy but her focus has improved and her limbs don't feel like wet noodles so much. Grabbing the thin covers, Nohva yanks them off and sits up only to grab at the mattress when the room spins out of control.

"Don't puke, don't puke, don't puke…." Her stomach settles and her head stops pounding- at least not so loud. She swallows past the dryness in her mouth and slowly slips out of the bed. The floor is cold as Nohva shuffles to the door but when she finally gets there she draws a breath and a small smile flits around her mouth. It's a small victory before Nohva remembers where she is and what's chasing her.

_'Where am I?'_

Footsteps. She can hear them outside until they veer off. Nohva still waits, listening at the door before opening it and peering into the hall. Quietly, she slips out and closes the door behind her. She listens again, trying hard to focus but she doesn't hear anything. Nohva hurries, as fast as she can in her condition which she hasn't taken the time to assess. It's the next turn that produces a scaly monster with a cigar clamped in its teeth wearing … _clothes_.

"What the hell…?"

"What?"

The gravelly voice accompanies the scowling scaly features and the lizard demon turns towards Nohva reaching for the cigar in its mouth. That's all it has a chance to do before she kicks it into the wall, running past the curses and threats as it struggles to pull out of the hole he made. Staying to finish it off is not the smart thing to do when she can barely keep from stumbling and the pain in her side has become a throbbing pulse because of it. Then there's the pesky detail of not having a weapon.

"Whoa!"

"Huhmph!" Nohva grabs onto the body and tries to force herself past but they smack into another wall. She catches glimpses of him through the hair in her face; the black leather jacket, gray shirt and blond hair… "…Dean…?"

"Why are you running-?"

"I'm going to put _you_ through a wall!"

"Oh. Yeah, he's not-."

She looks around 'Dean's' shoulder and there's the lizard demon. The cigar is gone but the scowl isn't.

"Run!" Nohva grabs him and starts for the door under the EXIT sign noting it isn't lit.

"Run?" he sounds confused but she doesn't let go of him, having a hard time pulling him in her wake.

"What are you doing? Stop her!"

She looks over her shoulder; the lizards scowling face and then 'Dean's' hesitant expression… his hair- she finally notices its longer than he'd ever wear it. His eyes are lighter- more gold than green and Nohva wonders if maybe this isn't some delusion-.

"Alec!"

She drops his arm hating to leave him because Dean wouldn't. That's just who he is and Nohva just hopes this isn't real and slams the door shut in his face.

**N**

Alec turns on Mole. "You scared her."

"She kicked me into a wall!" Mole snarls. Seeing the slightly arched eyebrow he glares at the X-5. "I didn't do anything to her."

"Didn't say you did." Alec doesn't bother to disguise his snicker of amusement. "I'm going…" he points to the door and runs off in chase of their newest patient. Just before Alec steps outside the hospital, Mole's statement kicks in. "She _kicked_ him into a wall?" because Zane had said she was an Ordinary he found floating in The Sound.

"Hey," Zane hurries up. "Did I just see-?"

"Your 'Ordinary' kicked Mole into a wall." Alec cuts Zane off mid-sentence. "Come on." He ignores the frown and blurs expecting Zane will follow.

She's almost made it to The Sound. They both see the Samurai grab her. It picks her up like she weighs no more than a feather and tosses her at the brick wall of the warehouse they've been storing supplies in. They're still too far to help her and watch as the sword swings at her head. She ducks, shoving at the Samurai and turning inside its arms to jab her elbow at its armored chest. It stumbles back and Alec doesn't think she's an Ordinary after all.

She has the sword when a second one comes up behind her. Both Alec and Zane shoot, their aim perfect but the Samurai doesn't go down. It does turn in their direction while she uses the second one as a punching bag, her hand snaking around to punch its head.

It… 'dies'. Both X-5's don't know what else it could be though it's not the kind of 'dead' they've ever seen.

The Ordinary Zane assumed was an Ordinary takes on the second Samurai with some fancy sword work. Both watch her, their genetically enhanced brains processing what they see because no Ordinary can be _that_ fast.

"Bar code?" Alec frowns, not looking away as she matches the Samurai with seeming ease. She's graceful even wounded and he can see where she struggles to anticipate the next attack or stay ahead of it.

"I…didn't see one." Zane replies as a third one appears.

Alec jumps in to help- he shoots it point blank in the face because it's wearing armor. It falls, clumping like a load of bricks on the ground where it takes a moment before splitting in two.

"What the fuck?"

Zane shoots as they sit up in unison. Both X-5's have no idea what they're doing but since bullets don't kill they use their hands.

Alec finally knocks the sword out of the Samurai's hand. He tries to avoid the foot coming his way and goes down as the Samurai punches his chest. For a second he's out of breath and the sky is blocked by the bulk of the Samurai standing over him.

Zane can see Alec on the ground from the corner of his eye and the 'Ordinary'- she beheads the Samurai and throws the sword.

"Get up!"Nohva has a split second of panic before she tells herself it _can't_ be Dean.

The hilt is sticking out of the armored chest. Alec rolls out of the way grabbing the sword as he gets to his feet and strikes. The head rolls off in slow motion to thud at their feet.

She's clutching at her side, blood staining the white t-shirt with a brick in her hand. Nohva smashes the stone on the severed head but it's too late. Both Samurai's have divided and there's four more. Alec rams the butt of the sword smashing the stone and they finish off the rest just coming up.

Zane gets the hint, slips in and punches the Samurai's forehead. The stone crunches, bits of it digging into his fist. They're wondering what the hell kind of genetic mutation they've killed because that's about the only explanation that will make sense.

Government experiments.

Alec wants to know what she is….

"What were those…?"

Nohva doesn't look at Zane, her hand pressing into her side harder but the pain isn't going away. She figures that's a good sign since not feeling anything would mean she was dying.

"Morah demon." She stumbles to the brick wall and leans on it trying to catch her breath. Nohva can feel the bruises on her back from hitting the bricks already forming.

"A what?"

"…Demon… they're trying to kill me."

"Why?" Zane inst sure she knows what she's saying but he'll keep asking and figure it out later.

"I'm a Slayer. That's reason enough." Nohva can't stay on her feet-her legs already feel like wet noodles again so she slowly slides down the brick wall. She's bleeding through her fingers, vision slightly fuzzy.

Alec moves towards her and she flinches, her eyes squinting up at him and he holds out his hands. "We're not going to hurt you." He tries again and she watches him. "We did get rid of your assassins…"

He looks like Dean. But this one looks young- _younger_ …he doesn't move the same- it's different, dangerous different.

_'He isn't Dean.'_

She thinks the sky is way bright and that casts a shadow on the not-Dean. She squints trying to keep his face in focus but the shadows only get darker…

**N**

Alec carries her back to the hospital while Zane takes the swords. He waits while they stitch her up again just in case she wakes up swinging. **_TerminalCity_** is still in short supply of doctors and whatever medics they do have Max would rather stayed in one piece. Zane is across the room, he hasn't stopped staring at Alec and it's bugging the X-5.

"What?" Alec growls in a low voice, a frown leveled at Zane.

"Just wondering who this Dean guys is." He answers amicably. "And why she'd confuse you for him."

Alec snorts. "Dude must be handsome." He's covering the anxiety he feels because he certainly doesn't want another clone of himself running around going bonkers and killing Ordinaries.

Zane just snorts. He doesn't bother to respond and grabs the swords on his way out of the room. "I'm going to talk to Max."

"Awesome." Alec mutters. He's had enough of Max and her bossy demands and while he can't avoid her forever he certainly doesn't have to go looking for her.

"Try and stay out of trouble." Zane warns though it's partly in jest.

**N**

Nohva wakes in the same room, or close to it, only this time she's been strapped down and she doesn't like it. She starts working on the straps around her wrists- leather, which makes it difficult to get free but she has her left hand out by the time the door opens. Her eyes widen seeing the dark haired guy from before. He's across the room too fast for it to be normal, his hand firmly gripping her free wrist.

"You really need to stop running off and getting hurt." Zane warns. "All we're trying to do is help you."

"Let go." Nohva tugs on her wrist but he doesn't budge and she's a little afraid. He shouldn't be able to do that.

"What are you?" Zane frowns. "What kind of X-Series is a Slayer?" he notes the confusion flitting across her features. "I've never heard of one… nor has anyone else in **_TerminalCity_**."

"What the hell is **_TerminalCity_**?" Nohva mutters. "What's an X-Series?"

Zane knows she's not pretending- he can spot a lie and he's trying but she really is confused. It's too weird and he reaches across her to the leather strap intending to keep her secured until they know more.

"No!" she struggles against him trying to break free when the door opens again. "Dean! He-." But he isn't Dean. She remembers and blinks against the tears threatening to spill. She doesn't understand- _'What the hell is happening?'_

She mutters under her breath, tells herself its all some sort of hallucination. Maybe she's being questioned by some demon- Nohva is aware the Winchesters have a vendetta with one and she's heard of others gunning for them. She closes her eyes and lies back, ignoring them. She can't remember anything that can explain how she could end up here.

They'd been trying to stop the influx of demons, to give Willow and the covens a chance to close the rip and stop more from crossing over. Nohva's fuzzy on the next part because somehow she'd been transported to the forest where she'd only managed to get away from the howlers on her ass. But there had been too many to kill with only her gladius and the battle ax.

 _'My weapons!'_ Nohva sits up and the straps on her wrists yank her back. She bites back a painful exclamation, her face paling with the pain shooting up from her side. She lies back breathing slow and even while mourning the loss of her weapons. She had started out with that battle ax before moving on to the gladius those first weeks at the castle.

She feels a warm hand on her wrist and turns to look.

"What are you doing?" Zane demands as he leans across her to stop Alec.

"She's not a prisoner, Zane." Alec removes the strap. "She can't trust us if we don't trust her." His green eyes focus on hers. With a clearer head the differences are so obvious; green eyes, yes but tinged with gold and his hair falls almost to his shoulders. So _not_ Dean's style. And he's young too.

"We can't help you if you don't co-operate." He reaches across and removes the leather cuff then sits in the chair beside the bed.

He's waiting.

Nohva doesn't know what to think. She wonders if it's some trick…a way to get her talking. But he _sounds_ like Dean, that softly rough tone of his voice…

"Where am I?" Nohva doesn't think that will get her in too much trouble.

**N**

Max has questions for the woman Zane found on their shore. She doesn't believe Alec, that she's some mystical being called a Slayer whose job it is to kill vampires cus, uh, vamps? Right. So maybe the chick got slammed in the brick wall a little too hard by the demon cus yeah, demon ha! But then it's only been 4days and Nohva only has faint bruises-she's healed way too fast for an Ordinary- more like an X-Series though Doc says that's a little slow for what she looks like now compared to what she looked like when he first stitched her up and then a second time. So Max is gonna take a look for herself.

Nohva is pacing the room they won't let her leave and she's pissed. It's been 4days and yes she's been keeping track. She's not going to let them keep her any longer and now that she's healed Nohva will give it a few hours before she kicks down the door and beats her way out.

_'Trust. Ha!'_

Trust be damned. Nohva wants to know what the hell is going on, where she is because it really can't be some modern _Mad Max_ version and finding a demon will get her the answers she's not willing to believe from the X-5's because…government projects…? Well, yeah. She has to admit there is a possibility since Buffy's stint with the Initiative back in the day proves it.

Max walks in and Nohva stops her pacing. She doesn't say a word and stares, arms crossed. They're sizing each other up, noting the deceptively relaxed stance and the intelligent glint in each other's eyes.

They have questions and Max starts off.

"Is it true?" Max watches her, noticing the shift in expression.

"I want out." Nohva drops her crossed arms; hands fisted which Max doesn't ignore.

"What kind of happy juice you drinkin' makes you see vampires?" Max shifts her stance just a little; a response to the fists across from her.

"We go out." Nohva nods towards the door Max is blocking. "I'll prove it's true."

**N**

Zane walks in just as Nohva slips on the leather jacket-Alec's version of a house warming gift, without the house. She's in a pair of dark jeans and white long sleeved thermal top, her dark hair loosely braided down her back.

Again, Alec.

"Here." Zane hands her the Morah sword. "I thought you'd want it. There's three more…"

Nohva takes it after a moment. "Okay." She tests the weight of it but knows they're perfectly balanced. She's just wondering what Max will say about her being armed considering…

"Alec kept one." Zane tries small talk but he's kinda uncomfortable. "It's hanging on his wall…"

"So that's what this is for." Nohva holds up the strap that came with the pack of clothes. It's a simple strap with a buckle she can easily adjust to fit her where the sword can hang on her back. She's a bit confused by the 'gift' but at least she's got a weapon.

 _'All I need is a stake.'_ Nohva can't dust vampires without one though according to Max, she's loony for even thinking vampires are real.

Zane and Alec told her about The Pulse and she's having the same amount of trouble believing the date 2029. That **_TerminalCity_** is a toxic dump and 'Ordinaries' can't handle the levels so they stay out. That Seattle has been cut up into sectors with checkpoints like you're crossing the border or something!

 _'Definitely_ Mad Max. _'_

**N**

Alec is waiting at the main gate.

"I don't need babysitters." Nohva frowns at the three X-5's. "I can handle getting around a major city." She feels uncomfortable with Alec though she's trying not to let them see that. "Even future Seattle. I can take care of myself."

"Curiosity." Alec smiles genially. "Part cat."

Nohva arches a dark eyebrow because that part is difficult to swallow.

"We're all going." Max states. "Wouldn't want you confusing a Transhuman for your 'demon'."

"I heard that." Nohva calls to Max's back for the muttered 'again'.

"Mole tends to have that affect on Ordinaries." Alec grins and it's clear he finds it amusing.

"Right." Nohva nods. "Slayer." She points at herself. "I slay. That's my job and your mole got in my way. He's lucky I didn't 'slay' him."

"And that's why you're not going into Seattle alone." Max states with a slight glare at Alec.

**N**

They've been asking her questions non-stop but they've also answered some of hers and seeing what's happened … Nohva can't deny what she can see with her own eyes. The Pulse happened… the world Nohva grew up in is no longer the one she's living in.

_'How can they stand this?'_

The X-5's… Nohva spares each a glance but they're all still as pretty as they were five seconds ago. They're definitely warriors- they carry themselves with the same ease she remembers in Buffy and Faith and all the other Activated Potential's… _Not_ thinking about the Winchesters well, they had that swagger too. Dean more so than Sam…

"So… this- it's your 'calling'? That just…" Alec frowns, how much different is it from being cooked up in a test tube? "Hey!"

Nohva takes off, that familiar tug… there's no way she's ignoring it.

The three run after Nohva, she's fast on her feet but an X-5 is still much faster.

"What?" Zane looks around buts it just regular Seattle with its rainy sidewalk full of trash.

"You know you can't outrun us, right?" Max glares, ignored for the moment. And that's annoying; she's ready to call it a night.

"Aren't we close to _Crash_?" Zane wonders as he recognizes the street.

"Come on, Max." Alec grins, eager for some fun. "Let's grab some beers and a game."

"You can pick up Ordinaries on your time, Alec." Max growls with annoyance.

"I want to see it." Nohva cuts in before they continue arguing. Alec is happy and he takes the lead, threading her arm through his and heading down the block. The closer they get the stronger the feeling becomes and Nohva knows she's on the right track.

Zane reaches to her back and Nohva turns with a fist ready to strike.

"I'm just reaching for your sword." Zane explains and Alec quickly takes it from her back.

"I'll keep it safe." He grins with the promise and he's just too damn charming it hurts-knowing this isn't Dean.

"We don't need the attention…"

"Barcodes are plenty. We'd rather not be stared at." Max states.

They head inside a krappy looking bar and right away it's deafening. She feels rather naked without the sword but Nohva still has her hands and feet. It'll be enough. She walks through _Crash_ with purpose, as though she knows where she's going when Max gets waylaid by Sketch. Nohva only continues when Alec assures her he's just a friend. They don't introduce her-not that she minds. As Zane leads her towards an empty table another female joins the trio.

"That's OC." Zane speaks close to her ear. "She's a friend of theirs." He pulls out the stool for her to sit and notices she's not really paying him any attention but she's looking around the room like she's meeting someone.

Nohva zeros in on the feeling. She knows exactly what it is and sits up.

"Beers-!" Alec sets the pitcher down with a couple of mugs when Nohva gets to her feet and slips into the crowd. "Where's she going?"

"Come on." Zane grabs at his arm and starts after her.

It's a vamp- Nohva's certain. She spots it with Max but before she can get to them it's walking her out another door. Nohva shoves through a group of people dancing ignoring their curses. It didn't look as though Max knew she was gonna be its dinner.

The back door bangs open and the vamp faces Nohva.

"Slayer." The face changes, its demon exposed when Max delivers a side kick to its ribs. "Ooph!" it looks surprised and Nohva takes the advantage.

Nohva grabs the leather clad shoulders and tosses the vampire into the brick wall moving in with a rapid set of blows that leave it seeing stars before it thuds to the ground once again.

"I want answers." Nohva kicks it over.

"…you're buggered, love… got none." He chuckles.

"What happened to the NWC? Where's Buffy? Faith? Where are the other Activated Slayer's?" Nohva punctuates each question with a blow.

He kicks at her leg and rolls on top of Nohva. "Who are you?"

Max moves in, kicks him off Nohva and finally gets a good look at his face. Bumpy ridges, fangs and yellow eyes that seem to glow. She backs up, shocked because that's not the same face from a few minutes ago before she begins to rationalize what she's seeing. There were stranger faces at _Manticore_.

The door opens again; both Alec and Zane pause as they get their own look at a vampire.

Nohva rolls to her feet and pummels him. Both trading blows though she thinks the vampire is holding back…until he slams her into the brick wall and pins her.

"Spike!" he yells just before Zane and Alec grab him and toss him into the dumpsters.

"Stop." Nohva orders as the X-5's move in. They glance at Max then her as she walks past them.

"…Smell like rotting vegetable garden…" Spike mutters flinging trash off his arm before leaping out of the dumpster with ease.

Nohva has heard of Spike-never got to meet the vamp since she was brought in after Sunnydale sunk.

"Prove it." Nohva stands in front of the X-5's.

Spike looks at her like he can't believe he's being asked to prove he's himself.

"I helped Buffy close the Sunnydale HellMouth." He splutters indignantly.

"Whoopdi-do," Nohva replies dead-pan. "Public knowledge. You gotta do better."

Spike is pissed. "What- you followed me, not the other way around-."

Spike gets surprised by the snap jab in his face and then has the sharp point of wood at his heart.

"You got two seconds before I make you dust."

Alec is rather impressed she got the broken board that fast. They all watch as the vamps face goes back to human. Its creepy, more than the X-5's are used to. Spike sags against the wall, eyes the X-5's then Nohva finally making his decision.

"Red cast a spell, made all the Potentials into Slayers but then no others were Called. None. Dawn got… pulled back to where she was before those monks made her corporeal; the Cleveland HellMouth blew up, bout same time we got hit with that Pulse – few years after we got back from Hell. Buffy, she got around to sending some mini Slayer's down to LA, gave Peaches his own guard even though Wolfram & Hart weren't a threat-."

"One second and I'm not hearing anything new." Nohva cuts in. He can feel the point of wood pressing down on his chest.

"Whoa, wait a bloody second!"

"Times up." Nohva reaches back-

"I know where Giles is!" Spike yells. Nohva pauses, her arm still poised to strike. "I can take you."

Nohva steps back from Spike, just staring at him, considering… he looks the way the girls described; same platinum blond head, the leather duster he took from a dead Slayer back in the 70's, awful British accent and if he starts spouting poetry…

Spike doesn't breathe a sigh of relief when she chucks the krappy stake.

"Wait, wait, hold on." Max steps in. "What the hell is…?" She points at Spike unwilling to call him a he or even it and even less a 'vampire'.

Spike just grins. "I'm the biggest, baddest vampire-."

"His name is Spike." Nohva cuts in. "Let's go." She motions for Spike to get going. He's not happy to get cut off and grumbles but starts walking out towards the street. Nohva reaches for her sword and Alec pulls it out just as a couple of shadows jump on them.

Spike knows what they are and quickly takes out the one intent on grabbing him.

Zane and Alec pull out their guns and start shooting while Max grabs the closest one and slams it head first into the wall. The two demons in front of Nohva block her access to Spike and to her disgust the vampire flees.

Nohva guts the demons, she wants to go after Spike before he gets too far but she can't leave the X-5's either though they do well on their own.

"For making such a fuss about drawing attention you really make a lot of noise." Nohva huffs with annoyance.

The demons are dead and slowly turning into oozy puddles of gunk.

"The Morah didn't do that." Alec points out. That curiosity is evident again when he kneels to sniff at the goopy mess and pokes it with a bit of trash.

"She's right." Zane looks around. "We made a lot of noise. We need to go."

**N**

Max has to concede Nohva was telling the truth no matter how incredible her story seems. She's seen her very first vampire and killed –

"What did you call those…?" Max still struggles with the fact demons and vampires and every other horror story the Ordinaries consider make believe really truly exist.

"I need to find Giles." Nohva ignores Max's question. She's not about to keep repeating herself. She gave Max the proof she wanted and that's about it.

Nohva is worried about everything. The NWC, the battle she was pulled out of, whatever is trying to kill her and finding a way back to her own time. But really, Alec's presence keeps reminding her of Dean and there's his deal- though now that she's in the future…

 _'He's dead.'_ The thought hits hard and she sits in the metal chair staring at the table top.

"I can help dig up information." Zane offers. His hand is a warm pressure on her shoulder.

"Yeah, just…" Max walks off. **_TerminalCity_** needs her attention and she'd rather focus on the latest list of 'wants/needs' than her evening with a vampire Slayer.

**N**

The days go by, Zane helping to gather what information they can on the Hunters Nohva has given up hope of ever finding. The Pulse wiped the entire US. If it was on a hard drive …. Well, there wasn't much hope to get back what was on it without the right equipment and while **_TerminalCity_** has the Transgenics – a city full of geniuses –all they're missing is the fancy equipment so abundant back in 2008.

She has almost gotten used to the 'demony' faces in **_TerminalCity_**. Spending most of her time in Command Central looking over Zane's shoulder while they read over old news clippings. It's just a little annoying that he can read way faster so Nohva finds herself asking what the hell it's about when he's already on to the next piece. She's been looking up anything and everything in LA, Angel Investigations, even The Hyperion but it isn't much.

She's given them everything she remembers; names- all the scooby's, what activated Slayer's she was closest to that aren't dead – or, rather weren't before she got futured to the _Mad Max_ version of the future.

"Ooh…" Dix glances over at them, his expression- hard as it is to figure out- is not a good face.

"What?" Nohva feels the bottom of her stomach drop out but she keeps her face blank. _'It's bad. Oh, this is bad. This is going to be bad.'_

He doesn't say anything, just hands over the tablet where Nohva has trouble reading the article.

The bank job.

It's a Hunt, she knows it is and reading the entire thing slowly eats away the numb feeling. They've got pictures of them both- Wanted Posters!

What the hell where they doing?

"I found … this is weird." Dix scratches at his scalp and points her to his computer screen.

_'He's dead.'_

That's all she can think of. She knew he was- had to be- but reading it, having the confirmation in black and white print is …..

"This… the date, it's …" she can't believe Sam didn't call her. The bank job was three days before she got futured. Whatever help she could've offered them hadn't been needed just then- unless the NWC could have somehow made those Wanted Posters disappear and at the time there had been a pretty powerful Wicca on their side so…

"There's another one."

Nohva reads the second obituary for Dean. Another article and she realizes the Winchesters were in more trouble than she had known, than they'd tell her.

"Thanks." She's gonna hold the tears until there's no one to see her cry for him. "Let me know if there's anything else." But it's not just Dean … they're all gone, dead and even if they aren't it's better to think there's no one left. Easier to make it through each day wondering if she's ever going to find a way home.

Nohva leaves the command center and walks through **_TerminalCity_** towards her temporary apartment. It's as run down as the rest of the place – as most of Seattle and again, she just can't get over how different everything is. But the Transgenics have made an effort to make it livable and the apartment building is clean – run down, yes but everyone is busy fixing what they can.

Nohva shoves at her door and walks in heading straight for the mattress on the box spring in the only bedroom. She curls up in the middle of it, drawing the thin blanket around herself. She cries quietly, her tears soaked into the soft flannel material.

Nothing is familiar.

Three days later Zane gives her more bad news; as it turns out, the vampire 'Spike' was a big fat liar. The proof is the black and white page staring right back at her; the obituary for a Rupert Giles, pretty words all blurred from the tears she's not about to shed.

Nohva really wants to find Spike badly.

At first, Max doesn't like it. Not that Nohva gives her much of a choice and she's as capable as any X-5 when it comes to giving someone the slip. That had been Nohva's specialty with a couple other Actives; sneaking in undetected and getting out the same way if it was required … that seems a different life right then.

She goes out for a week straight with no results. There's no trail to follow and Nohva is losing her patience-not that she had much to begin with.

She's tried what numbers she had for the NWC offices right off the bat-and boy had there been a lot of those, all over the world- but nothing worked.

She's tried the numbers she remembers for the Winchesters but never held out hope of getting an answer- not when Nohva knew they had to be dead and long gone… with The Pulse? Those numbers wouldn't be working anyway.

She's hesitant to try her last option; Bobby.

_'I hope the old guy is still breathing.'_

Nohva stands at the shore and stares at water. It's cold but she's ignoring that. She thinks this is the worst thing that could've happened to her. Being alone, with no one who knew her or of her… Nohva wishes she'd been able to do something for the hunters though how she could have stopped the _Road House_ from burning down and all those people dying with it…

What had happened to the Harvelle's?

To Ash…?

He's damn quiet because Nohva doesn't hear him walk towards her. She _senses_ his presence, her Slayer senses picking up on the 'danger' because of his animal DNA and he's got a different… _feel_.

Zane isn't surprised to see she's got her little battle ax in hand. One of the many items Alec has 'found' for her.

"You won't need it with me." Zane points out. He stands beside her, quietly watching out along The Sound and after a moment, Nohva puts her battle ax away.

"Can't really let my guard down, can I?" She doesn't have to remind him of the Morah demons sent for her. "Even if you are super soldiers." It's been quiet on that front and its making her anxious. Still, Nohva offers him a tiny smile she doesn't feel.

Zane's eyes drop to her bare legs and while he admires the short skirt his focus is on the glint of silver tucked in her boot.

_'Another 'gift' from Alec, no doubt.'_

The thought annoys Zane. "Aren't you cold?"

Nohva's reply is a small shrug. They start walking along the water's edge, the moon isn't full but neither really needs it to see where their feet are going.

It's probably the quiet, or maybe the soft light, who knows but she can't help herself.

"I'm starting to think I'm never getting back to them." She hates the ragged sound of her voice but she can't help feeling scared, worried and just _useless_. What's the point of being Super Girl if the ones she wants to rescue are beyond her scope of aid? "They've had a shitty run for almost as long as they've been- _where_ \- … alive… I …"

"The Hunters?" Zane questions and gets a slight nod in answer. "Why aren't you as worried about your other friends? The NWC and the Actives…"

"They don't really need me." Nohva shrugs though her tone is hesitant. "There's a bunch of us. … There were. Back then. God! This is so fucking confusing! Half the time I don't even know what tense I'm using or supposed to use…" just as quickly the fire in her voice dies out. "The Winchesters are alone. Like, seriously on their own with their deal. They're fragile humans… Us? I mean, with the line being activated like Willow did, there's no 'One girl to fight the darkness'. There's no, 'One dies and another is Called' krap. And maybe they were selfish; Buffy and the others for 'Calling' us before our time. Hell, most of us _wouldn't_ have been Called. I could've been a regular, run of the mill, boring girl, going to school, getting a degree, marrying Joe-Schmoe and having those 2.5 kids with the picket fence and dog …" her rant is long and she knows it but there's so much she _had_ wanted before. "Jeez…I'd have died of boredom." She laughs but doesn't really feel it either. "The point was; Dean and Sam could use some super muscle on their side. … I just thought… I'd be there for them. … If they'd ever have called me for help. … Which I seriously doubt, anyway." She sighs and stops a few yards from the old docks.

It's where Zane found her.

"Those demons…they really have it bad for them. Sam and Dean …"

"Why?" Zane frowns and Nohva turns to him. "What's the big deal?"

"I don't know." She shakes her head and moves past the old posts and towards the abandoned pier. "Dean isn't- _wasn't_ -." she bites back the frustrated sigh and goes up the short flight of steps. "They weren't exactly the sharing type. All I know is they've gone from one fight to another since they were kids."

Zane moves beside her, both facing out to the water, arms resting on the rail. "That I understand." He's been a soldier all his life, fighting for survival has been like breathing from the moment he was pulled out the womb. Hiding from _Manticore_ kept him on the move and that's what the Winchesters have done.

 _'Did.'_ He corrects himself, already thinking of the hunters in the present tense like Nohva.

Zane never made any close relations, he just couldn't open himself up like that, too much to hide and he'd pick up in a second if he felt them coming.

Nohva doesn't have any idea what that's like. She never got torn away from her family; she had the chance to live the happy normal that most people take for granted.

Becoming a Slayer was like … it's difficult to explain though it's obvious most Actives relish their power. They aren't weak girls anymore and sometimes… Nohva doesn't believe every Potential should have gotten that power. Corny as it sounds; _With great power comes great responsibility._

Power corrupts.

Power can be abused, _is_ abused.

_'Uncle Ben was a smart dude.'_

And Nohva can't help but agree. She has a responsibility. She has a duty to protect those weaker than herself and maybe it's just the sense of duty instilled in by her Dad and his example but someone has to step up.

"So… Super Girl, huh." Zane smiles and gets a small one in return.

"I've got a deeply rooted sense of duty. So, yeah. Me Super Girl." She tries for levity and raises her arms in the classic muscle man pose. It's over just as quickly. "My Dad was a pilot in the AirForce…" Nohva glances at him with a slight wince at mention of the military. "Sorry."

Zane gets where the 'duty' comes in and he smiles to show her the reference to military doesn't bother him. They stand beside each other in silence for a while.

If he's honest, Zane can see where having a military force is beneficial. And while he's not happy about _how_ he and his siblings were brought into the world he can be clinical about it and get the _why_. They'd been smart; to build themselves an army of super soldiers…

Nohva wraps her arms around herself, the night really is cold and as stubborn as she can be she still doesn't emit the same body heat as Zane.

He scoots closer still-it's not like he hasn't noticed her slowly inching towards him anyway but he'll let her pretend he hasn't.

Nohva looks up at him, again noticing his height which is just between Sam and Dean tall, as Zane drapes his arm over her shoulders and his warmth envelopes her.

"I'm not that cold you need to warm me up." She quips and a second later her cheeks flush as what she's said makes its second round in her head and there's sooooo many ways he could take it. "That's not how I meant. I meant I didn't mean it like… you know…"

Zane laughs. He likes the embarrassed stammer and just as quickly realizes they are alone.

_'We're alone…'_

He's an idiot for not noticing before but he'd been enjoying her company… and what the hell is he waiting for now?

Nohva stiffens in his arms. Surprise gives way to shock and before she thinks to push him off Zane draws back just far enough they can look in each other's eyes. He thinks she's just as beautiful as any X-5 he's ever seen. Her eyes are a deep blue-almost violet.

"Uhmmm…." Nohva just stares at him- honestly? He's not what she expected because she didn't expect the kiss at all.

It felt nice.

Zane just gives her another second to run off and when she doesn't he feels like cheering. Instead, Nohva gets another kiss and this time Zane makes sure she's left breathless.

**N**


	2. Shades of Green

**N**

Alec waits for Nohva at the stairs leading out of her apartment building. She always gets … ‘nervous’ … around him and he's not the only one who has noticed the stolen glances. She goes real still when he moves close to her which truth be told, bothers Alec. 

He's not repulsive. 

He's been told so on many occasions.                 

Alec has done some digging around of his own. It didn’t take him long to find the pictures and the obituaries on Dean Winchester.

Like he'd told Zane; Dude was handsome alright and Alec thinks Nohva just has trouble putting it together; dead Dean and Alec right there, breathing and talking.  Nohva stops on her way down the last few stairs when she spots Dea- _‘Alec.’_

She's done her best to avoid him- leaving the room if he happens to walk in, directing any questions to another Transgenic and just making herself busy somewhere out of his way. It’s not easy to ignore the obvious similarities because Nohva finds herself listening to Alec when he's joking around or talking … He _looks_ and _talks_ and even has some of the same mannerisms as _Dean._  

And Dean is dead and Nohva just doesn’t know if she's ever going to find a way to her own time, a way home to him and that makes it so much harder to be around De- _‘Alec.’_

Alec stands up, the easy grace isn't missed but at least she's not running off per usual.

“I'm taking you out to eat.” He'd meant to ask her but seeing as how that would likely give her a chance to run off… “Got a place outside **_TerminalCity_**.”

There’s that damnable smile on his familiar face and Nohva agrees before her brain realizes her mouth has spoken those words out loud.

Alec can sense it and he's not missing his chance to show her the difference. He takes her hand lightly, still making sure she's not going to slip away easily. 

Outside the air is still cold but Nohva has traded the mini skirt for dark jeans, a comfortably light sweater blouse and the leather jacket from that first care package. He's got his bike ready- a dark shiny beast and Nohva hesitates watching Alec move with feline grace. She ignores the smirk he throws at her and climbs on behind him, her arms slipping around his waist, no helmets. The bike roars to life and she leans into his back, closes her eyes and pretends she's back home, that nothing has changed… but … Dean wouldn’t trade his Baby for a bike. She's sad all over again knowing they’re all gone.

Alec pulls up to an old diner. He figures Nohva will like it since it would be more of what she was used to back in 2008. 

She looks around, a soft smile ghosting over her lips and Alec is grinning cus he so got it right. He takes her hand again and walks her in, all charm and smiles; they spend a couple of hours just enjoying the night. Nohva is laughing and it’s not so difficult to see this Alec and not Dean. 

“Now that we’re getting to know each other maybe you'll stop avoiding me as much.” 

Nohva drops her eyes to the table, she’s embarrassed – he actually noticed. _‘Damn.’_

“…it’s not personal… sorry…”

He's screwed up and damn but everything had been going just fine before he called her out for the avoiding and running away. “You feel like going to _Crash_ some time?”

“…uhm… o-kay…” it’s out of left field and it’s not like she can’t go out with him-

_‘Oh so not how I'm supposed to think of him!’_

It’s not a date. She's going to take it as a friendly invitation and that’s all.

Alec smiles, a change of topic and that’s it. No need to ever mention being avoided by her again.

N

Max has to figure out where she's getting these latest ‘request’ for supplies **_TerminalCity_** just seems to plow through too fast. She's going to have to start rationing again and that’s going to mean a lot of griping from her fellow freaks. 

“Alec!” she reigns in the sigh of relief seeing her SIC strolling past which turns to annoyance because it’s not like there isn't plenty to do. 

“Maxie!” he can tell she's gritting her teeth, biting back the words she’d love to spit at him and that makes his grin widen. “Ho-.”

“Put a team together.” Max cuts in to whatever nonsense he was thinking of saying. “You're on a supply run.” She slaps the list on his chest and turns away before Alec can hand it back to her.

“Hey! Max!”

“You're the SIC, Alec!

“Exactly! I'm not ‘errand boy’. Max!” Alec grumbles but she's not giving him the time and it’s not like the things on the list is stuff he can get at the local Ordinary market. He can already tell it’s going to be a long trip and walking past the large round table he snags a pen and starts adding to the list. The sooner he gets everyone prepped for this run the sooner he can get back to what he likes to do best.

N

Nohva still feels uncomfortable sparring with the little ones. They’re all enthusiastic little beasts who don’t have the same reservations about hitting her full force as she does to them. “Holy… _fuck_ …” Nohva lands on her back with a blinding pain shooting up her side from the gods only know what kind of move that was!

“Sorry!” 

Nohva ignores the cheerfully unrepentant apology in favor of breathing the blinding pain away. “You weren’t trying.” Zane points out bent over her where she lies. He's seen her fight before- wounded no less- and he knows the pain she's feeling now is because she was afraid of hurting the X-6. 

“To hit ‘em?” Nohva grunts opening her eyes to scowl up at him. “Damn straight. You forget I'm Super Girl strong? And I don’t care if you're genetically enhanced super-dooper whatevers, k?” she cuts him off accepting the hand offered to get her to her feet. “Jeez, ow… baby slayers? No problem, they can take it. These kids? Oh… not even fair, man.” Nohva grumbles and gingerly moves around but she's only got a slightly sore set of ribs.

“You can’t look at them as children, Nohva. They aren't.” Zane reminds her gently. It’s a bit annoying and confusing, her inability to see them as more than what they look like.

“Ok, sure. In about 10years, k.” she waves him off and heads for the exit. She's going to test out the bathtub in her not so temporary apartment and not think about the kids that kinda remind her of the baby Slayers.

Zane watches, deciding in a split second before he blurs across the room and grabs her around the waist. 

“Hey-!” Nohva feels herself fly through the air. She can’t believe he's going to try her with an audience. “You're gonna be sorry!” She lands on her feet and launches her attack. They spar for a few minutes, the kids cheering and screaming encouragement. It’s all a game to them, the kids that aren't kids but soldiers.

Zane is trying to make a point- well…it started out that way. He gets her pinned easily, both of them rolling on the ground until he's on top and she goes still.

“You sure about this?” Nohva questions rather calmly. Its throws him off considering he has her pinned pretty tight. 

“You ready to concede?” Zane grins. If they didn’t have an audience …. 

“Hah, cocky aren't you?” Nohva grins and the shock on his face when she turns the tables on him is so very satisfying. “I win.” She jumps to her feet and looks at the kids and gives a slight curtsy.

“Next time, X.” 

“Rematch!” the X-6 crows like she's won a prize. For a second there, Nohva is reminded of the younger Activated Slayer’s in training; little girls testing out their new strength and abilities. Zane gets up and pairs them all off while Nohva waves and leaves him to finish off their training. She can’t help but wonder what kind of cruel joke this is when kids are grown in petri dishes spliced with all kinds of different animal DNA just so the government could get their new ‘toys’.  “Hey, you playing with the X-6’s?” Alec grins falling in beside her. The X-6 and X-7’s are the last of the _Manticore_  soldiers. There's a few first generation Transgenics running around **_TerminalCity_** and so far…that’s all. The second generation hasn’t even been planned yet. 

“Sorta.” Nohva replies with a slight wince. “They sure hit like mini-Slayers.”

Alec just laughs. “They’re not innocent little angels, Nohva. None of us are.”

“Yeah, Zane and everybody else keeps reminding me.” She sighs. “I'm still … a little out of my element here. You know?”

“Yeah…” Alec nods, his smile widening. He thinks maybe a trip out of town wouldn’t be so bad

for her after all and he's got the perfect destination in mind. “Are you busy later?” “Uhm…. No-oo…?” she gets a laugh for her drawn out hesitating answer.

“You are now.” Alec assures and steps aside, holding the door to her sort of not so temporary apartment building. “Pack some clothes- we’re leaving in three hours. Meet me at the warehouse.”

“Woa- wareho-? Hey!” Nohva hurries back to the door he's quick to blur past. “What-?”

“Supply run!” Alec calls out. “Just be ready in three hours or I'm tossing you over my shoulder.

You need to get out more!” he takes off with that and Nohva grumbles under her breath.

“Yeah, get out more, like there’s anywhere to go sightseeing.” Still…the idea of getting out of **_TerminalCity_** for a few days…

N

The first thing Alec does is trade the Morah sword for a gun.

“What’s wrong with my sword?” 

“We’re trying not to draw attention.” Alec responds because the sword is way too in your face. “And you can’t kill anything long distance with a knife. No matter how long.” He adds when she opens her mouth to protest.

Nohva shuts up. She takes the 9mm Alec hands her and easily takes her stance. “Are you going to play the instructor? Cus I already had my lessons.” Nohva quips. Truth is, she's a little uncomfortable with how close he is. He's not Dean but he still reminds her of him at the most unexpected times.

“We aren't sparring…” he quips and stands back. She empties the clip in rapid succession then lowers her arm; a dark eyebrow arched in mocking challenge as she safeties her weapon without any help or direction from him.

“My Dad trained us. Mom didn’t like it but Dad would rather we knew how to use a weapon.

Knowledge is power and he drilled safety.”

Alec gives a soft whistle. She's hit each bullet in the center of the target. “Wait… no way!” he's digging out the remnants, unrecognizable pieces of metal.

“What can I say?” Nohva shrugs enjoying his incredulous expression. “Slayer aim.” She eyes the three bits of metal clumped together, brow furrowed in question. “Can’t you do that?” Alec laughs. He's not buying the innocent Slayer act but this is certainly better than her trying to avoid him all the time. “Alright, lesson over. Let’s go.” He shakes his head when she starts handing him the gun. “Nah, keep it. I'm not expecting any trouble with the supply run but…” he shrugs.

“Better safe than sorry.” Nohva agrees as they step out into the street. “Gotcha.”

Alec climbs on his bike, no helmet yet again, just a pair of shades and he's got some nice ones for her as well.

“Okay…you plan on telling me where we’re going?” Nohva wraps her arms around his waist again and settles in. They’ve got their packs strapped down and for just a second Nohva wonders if maybe she ought to stay behind. Extra clothes means overnight and really…how is that going to work out?

“It’s a surprise.” Alec responds as the bike roars to life.

“Surprise?” Nohva frowns. “You're getting supplies! How’s that a surprise?” 

They speed off, easily catching up to the truck at the outskirts of Seattle. It’s a small group of Transgenics, 6 and even then they're better than any platoon the government could put together from Ordinaries.

N

Its dusk by the time they arrive in Los Angeles and yeah, Nohva is surprised. It had been home when she was a little girl, before Dad had been promoted and they’d made the move.  Still, the City of Angels doesn’t look the way she remembers it.

Alec drives through the city, weaving out of the traffic happy not to have sector points to deal with. It was one of the reasons he’d proposed they relocate **_TerminalCity_** a few hundred miles south but Max wasn’t having any of it.

His goal is the Hotel- the surprise that could either bite him in the ass or … well…

Nohva had seen it, just before they’d gone to take on Twilight and their war really got going…  The Hyperion had definitely seen better days. Its once white exterior is a dark, dirty gray and some of the parts still standing have black smudges that could only be the result of fire. Alec pulls right into the front courtyard. He gives her time to look around outside watching as she hesitates on the steps while he parks his bike in a hidden corner. 

 _‘Angel…? Maybe…?’_ Nohva steps inside the partially unhinged door. Her boots crunch on the dirt covering the floor, echoing the dry raspy sound the further she heads inside the Hyperion.

“Here.” Alec hands her a flashlight already holding his own.

Nohva moves to the center of the lobby floor and shines her light into the darkening corners. “Angel!!” she waits with bated breath as her voice echoed back much softer. She listens, eyes closing, head slightly tilting and she concentrates on picking up any sounds the souled vampire might make.

……… the heavily expelled breath is answer enough. No other sound- by vampire anyway- can be heard by either of them.

“I was hoping…” Nohva sighs.

“So…uh… surprise?” Alec waits a tense moment before Nohva laughs. 

“Yeah.” She nods taking another look around the lobby. “I'm definitely surprised.” She moves towards the stair case where Alec makes it a point to go first. She rolls her eyes but waves him ahead. Who is she to deny him the pleasure of falling through old rotting boards and maybe breaking his neck when he hits the basement. Or the pool.

 _‘Wonder if it has water?’_ she frowns just thinking of how _long_ the water might have been sitting in the unused pool. _‘Gross.’_

Alec keeps his mouth shut, however difficult he finds it since his curious about her connection to the Hyperion. He wants to hear more of her stories and the questions start when they move to the left wing of what’s left of the Hotel.

“…I don’t know…Buffy was partial to the crossbow – before she got the scythe.” “A scythe?”

“Yeah, wicked cool!” Nohva smiles remembering how it had felt that one and only she had the opportunity to wield it. “It’s an ax and stake in one and … _sings_ …”

“It… the scythe… _sings_?” 

“It’s a mystical thing.” Nohva doesn’t bother to explain any further so he leaves it alone.

“Crossbow?” Alec frowns. “What’s with the medieval weaponry?”

Nohva shrugs. “It’s how we train. How each Slayer has fought. Sword, ax, stake…”

“Gun.” Alec shows her the shiny black toy he's carried along. He slips his hand around her waist and sure enough the one he gave her is snugly tucked into the waistband of her jeans, covered by her jacket.

“Yeah…it just… I don’t even know if it’s allowed.” She certainly feels uncomfortable not having her sword. She takes the 9mm Alec slips from her back and wonders if a Slayer is _allowed_ to use a gun? Were there rules about this sort of thing?

“You're in the modern world, Nohva.” Alec rolls his eyes again. “Yeah, The Pulse set us back but you are in the future. A modern Slayer has to get with the times, right?”

Nohva laughs. She can’t really fault his thinking … or is it that she would rather not?

N

It doesn’t take long to get the supplies Alec ordered and with 6transgenics to load the truck it’s only a few hours before they're all ready to hit the road. It’s been a day of work and no fun and Nohva hasn’t complained. 

She's quieter than usual, thinking about the hotel and its broken walls… 

_‘Has everything fallen apart?’_

It certainly looks as though it has. Nohva can’t find any trace of her past in this future and its making her integration difficult. She tries not to show it.

Alec has kept pace with the truck, slow as it is they’ve managed a good distance before he decides to ride ahead. They speed past the truck, their check points already discussed. Alec has a plan.

By late afternoon they hit San Francisco.

“You ever been here?” Alec slows to city speeds.

“Once. We came to clean house.” Nohva didn’t get to see much of the city, let alone the bridge and this future version isn't likely to hold any appeal for her.  “What, vampires?” Alec pulls over; he's got the perfect spot for lunch.

“Not that time.” Nohva looks around wondering what the plan is. Still, she’ll take the opportunity to stretch her legs and back.

“Is there any place there aren't monsters?” Alec saw it, the vampire… he knows the things she's told him have to be real but they aren't as real to him. 

“Not that I ever heard of.” Nohva follows him, both entering a cozy little restaurant where he gets them food to go. It’s a few minutes and he questions her about the NWC, the Actives, about Giles and Xander and laughs at the stories Nohva remembers hearing about them; the original 4.  With their food ready, Alec takes Nohva to the water front. They find a bench and sit to eat as the sun starts to set. 

“So, tell me about yourself.” Nohva’s smile is teasing but she's curious about him. This double to Dean and how is that even possible? How the hell did the government get DNA for Dean Winchester- had Dean known?

“This isn't a date.” Alec laughs. His discomfort is masked but he thinks she might sense that.  “20Questions, then.” Nohva shies away from that line of teasing. Night is upon them and they still haven’t said anything about those arrangements. Right now, Nohva is acutely aware of how ‘wrong’ this is. She's on a weekend trip with one X-5 and … _‘I've been sleeping with Zane.’_ It’s not like they're an item. 

It’s not like they're official or anything.

They don’t have anything … ‘formal’ and just that thought elicits an eye roll for how stupid she’d sound if those words were said out loud.

 _‘It was only that night at The Sound.’_  

And then again when she couldn’t find Spike…

N

Alec wants to go sightseeing. 

Nohva doesn’t think there's anything to see this late at night.

Alec can promise her they’ll have fun.

They head off to find that fun and Nohva gets to see Alec in action. He's charming, funny and a lot like the Dean she's been trying not to confuse him for. But she can't help the comparison watching Alec work a hustle. 

 _‘He's really good at this.’_ She thinks he might even be better than Dean.

Alec doesn’t notice right away that Nohva isn't where he left her. Still, it doesn’t take him long to track her by scent. What he finds isn't exactly what he expects even with the sounds of the fight he can hear before he even sees her.

Nohva is blowing off steam with the four vampires surrounding her. Those grunts and smacks of flesh against flesh are met with curses from the vampires getting their asses handed to them. Alec can see she has it covered. He stands back and watches her. He likes the way she moves, clean and graceful. She's having fun with them, working out her frustration and those feelings brought up by the information Zane helped her dig up on the hunters and the others.

Nohva gets smacked into the wall and Alec jerks forward only to watch the vampire turn to dust. That’s the first time he sees it and Nohva is already moving in on the rest of them. 

Alec shakes his head, smiling. She did it on purpose. He watches her flip one over and kick it into the second coming at her. They land in the trash cans making a racket sure to wake the dead. The one on the floor sits up and gets staked. She twirls the smooth bit of wood in her hand and the vampires untangling themselves from the trash cans barely have a chance to stand as she rushes them.

Nohva hops to the wall, pushes off it and flips rotating over their heads, her stake finds its mark and the vamp on her left is ash. She hooks her arm around the last ones neck, flips around yanking it off its feet. It smashes into the ground with a crunch. She kicks it over and straddles the thing. Her fists connect, a beating ensues that’s unnecessary but she's in control and steps off. There's a wood crate already splintered from the fight. Nohva grabs a piece of wood and stakes the half sitting vampire.

“Feel better?” Alec watches her flip a lock of inky hair over her shoulder, the bangs in her face blow out of her eyes with a puff of breath.

“Much.” She smiles brightly.

 _‘Bad ass.’_ That’s what Alec thinks.

N

They spend the night in a B & B close to the bridge. Its not big; a two story little cottage with three bedrooms. There's only one available and Alec doesn’t miss the uncomfortable glances she avoids casting towards the only bed in the room.

“I don’t need to sleep.” Alec assures. 

Nohva feels bad, she's got the bed all to herself and Alec is left with a stiff little arm chair by the window. When she comes out of the shower he's sitting in it trying not to look as uncomfortable as he really is. 

“All yours.” She smiles and packs up her clothes, ready for when they leave in the morning. She lays in bed listening to the water in the bathroom thinking of the many hotel rooms she stayed in with Dean and Sam. Krappy, non-descript, little holes in the wall no self respecting person who liked cleanliness would ever be caught dead in. But those were the places they could afford and needed to use. She figures with The Pulse, krappy hotels would be even easier to come by … but they're dead and gone. 

What does it matter?

“Hey Alec?” she's well aware he can hear her calling even if he doesn’t respond. “You can have the other side. I promise not to punch you in my sleep.” Nohva closes her eyes and listens intently. She can pick up the chuckle from the other side of the door and smiles.

She keeps her promise and the warmth surrounding her feels delightfully comforting after everything that’s happened the last few weeks.

Still, Alec is careful not to wake her as he untangles himself from Nohva. He hadn't meant to fall asleep and he hadn't needed to for long. The night was spent watching her, the soft exhale of breath from the slightly parted pout. The way her brow furrowed and her eyes would shift due to whatever was in her dream. Slowly but inexorably, Nohva gravitated toward him and Alec made it easy, opening his arms to let her snuggle into his side. He knew _why_ she would avoid him, the reason she's uncomfortable around him, the face she can’t disassociate from the man dead more than 20years. 

Just before dawn, Alec gets up and dresses being quiet- not that it’s difficult. 

Nohva is alone when she wakes, the pale sun peeking in the window poking at her face insistently. She sits up with a yawn and looks around then listens but the room is empty and the B &B still sounds like the rest are asleep.

“Aww, I'm early again.” Nohva groans as she flops back onto the bed and pulls the quilt over her head. She's got this internal clock that gets her up at the crack of dawn but it’s never difficult to fall asleep again if she really wants to.

“Let’s go.” Alec is there tugging the quilt from her face and Nohva sits up again. She blinks, surprised and glances towards the window. It doesn’t look much lighter than when she first woke…

“What- how? Where the hell did you come from?” she frowns because he hadn't been anywhere around when she checked.

That mischievous grin spreads on his face and the twinkle in his greenish-gold eyes is familiar enough to tug at her heart. “Test tube.” Nohva just tosses her pillow at him.

N

The view is … “Wow.” Her voice is a soft whisper of expelled breath. Stopping had been a good idea and Nohva is glad she didn’t make him keep going. She had always wanted to see the bridge in the early morning hours when it was said to really look golden.  

“I was here before.” Alec says just as quietly. He doesn’t want to think of the reason he'd been in

San Francisco so he doesn’t tell her about it. “I came up here and watched the sun rise.” There's a strong breeze and Nohva moves closer to the edge before it slopes downward. It’s chilly and her arms wrap around her torso, eyes closing and she takes a deep breath.  Right then, it’s easy to pretend she's home. 

“Another day…” Alec murmurs beside her.

“Not just any day.” Nohva shakes her head, eyes still closed. “Each day is unique, Alec.” She turns towards him, the blue eyes even more a deep violet in the morning light. “Nothing that happened before will happen again.”

He's staring into her eyes, the sound of her voice a soothing melody that whispers with the wind blowing cold.

“At the castle, they told us to appreciate each one because it could be our last. Slayer's die young.”

“So why go back to that?” Alec just doesn’t get it. “You can stay here.” But she just shakes her head and faces the bridge again.

“There are people who need me.” Even if they aren't willing to admit it or call for her help. “I don’t belong in the future, Alec. It doesn’t stop feeling like I'm out of place…”

“You make it feel that way.” Alec states turning towards her. “You'd fit in at **_TerminalCity_**. If you want to.”

The invitation is there. Nohva stays quiet; she can't _because_ of Alec. Because he reminds her so much of Dean that everyday it’s a reminder that he's dead. He's gone and she wasn’t there to help them. 

Alec can see she's sad again, thinking about dead people- he doesn’t even think about his next move. He takes that last step towards her and rests a warm hand on her cold cheek. He leans towards her, his arm easily hooking around her waist drawing her body flush against his as their lips meet.

Nohva doesn’t even pull back.

She feels guilty for pretending its Dean.

N

It’s taken them a while but **_TerminalCity_** is beginning to look more like home than any place she can remember. Things are working properly, they’ve managed hot running water in most of the X-5 though X-7 buildings. They’ve gotten generators to run on solar power and set them up on the roof of each of the DAC populated buildings. Extra for the subzero freezing needs of the cold DAC’s.

Max is certainly happy that Alec didn’t screw up their much needed supply run though some of the things coming off the truck are finding their way into pile carefully set aside from the main haul.

 _‘Not surprised, at all.’_ And she's not. Alec wouldn’t be him otherwise.

Max catches Zane watching the resident Slayer who’s helping unload the truck. It hasn’t escaped her notice, the sour attitude he's had the past few days in the Slayer's absence. She elbows her brother and nods in the direction of his gaze. “So?”

Zane just shrugs; he's not sure how to go about it because Nohva isn't X-Series but she's not an Ordinary either. 

“How is your love life?” Zane nudges her lightly and Max snorts.

“Syl’s the one with the love life.”

“Maybe we should go pester her about it.” Zane proposes and they laugh. Still, Zane can’t deny he doesn’t like that Nohva spent two days alone with Alec. He knows what draws her to the X-5. It’s not like he hasn’t seen the pictures…

N

Nohva finally makes the call to Bobby. She hadn't expected the old guy to still be around and he remembered her. It wasn’t easy to convince him it _was_ her but at least he was willing to hear her out. He didn’t say much about the Winchesters and Nohva didn’t want to bring up painful memories for him. He's old and that means fragile no matter how gruff and ornery he sounded on the phone.

Nohva's got a place to go now but she hesitates to leave **_TerminalCity_**. 

It’s Alec.

And the kiss that shouldn’t have happened because she can't stop wishing he was Dean even though she likes Alec too but that’s confusing cus she can't be sure it’s not her projecting her feelings for Dean onto a look alike.

 _‘I'm all kinds of fucked up.’_ She sighs and paces the length of her not so permanent apartment.  But it could be.

Permanent…

N

Zane knocks on her door.

They haven’t spoken since she got back from the supply run three days ago. They’ve never talked about their first night at The Sound or the last one at her apartment.

She opens the door and stares at him for a long moment. She's trying not to think about her kiss with De- _Alec,_ Alec and just feels worse because she has to be totally screwed up in the head. Zane hesitates at her door. She steps aside but doesn’t verbally invite him inside. Force of habit and Zane closes the door behind him. She doesn’t move, doesn’t say anything and sighs. She knows they have to have ‘the talk’ and all the complicated emotional stuff that goes along with it.  Nohva takes a step back and Zane matches it. His hand cups on her cheek, still warm and Nohva has a crisp memory of their night by the shore.

She doesn’t stop him. She's not going to think about what she's doing. Again.

Zane picks her up; his touch is anything but gentle. The door to her bedroom gets kicked shut and he's heavier than she expected when they hit the bed. 

She's helpful. She doesn’t protest or fight the rough hands or the bites and just figures it’s the feline because he told her about it and a little hurt is good. It’s not like she can't handle it, Nohva even starts to like it.

The light peeks through the curtain, gray morning and Zane pulls her towards him again. Novah has only taken little naps in between, she feels sore all over and half of what she's done is a blur. The thought crosses her mind; she should be ashamed of her behavior, of what they’ve tried but she's too tired to care.

_‘What day is it?’_

“Ow!” Nohva glares, he's left a fresh mark on her and he doesn’t stop with one. He pins her, teeth leaving another mark where he breaks the skin on her shoulder. “What the f-. Zane!” she pulls her hand free and smacks him hard. He's an X-5 after all and Slayer strength isn't going to break him… well, maybe if she tries.

Zane grabs her wrists in one of his hands. Nohva is surprised when he hits her. 

It’s the smile on his face that sends a cold shiver through her. The black eyes freeze her where they lay.

Novah can't breathe. She can't think-doesn’t want to think because if she does then she has to deal with what's in front of her and that is going to hurt.

_‘How?’_

“My, my,” the demon smirks. His voice is harsh and strange. Nothing like the X-5 she knows.

“You're not faithful are you?”

It’s a knife in her chest or so it feels like. 

“Heard you were hard up on the eldest Winchester.” He tisks, Zane's body shifts and it brings to sharp reality her vulnerable position. “And here you are… so easy.” His mouth travels down her cheek, his tongue leaving a wet trail before biting at her pulse. 

Nohva refuses to let that whimper escape and the burning tears in her eyes are held back.

“Did you test the look alike?” he whispers in her ear. “Because this one sure wondered about it. After all, you were alone for two days….” He laughs. “I didn’t have any trouble getting in your

pants. It took me what? 2seconds and you’re begging me…”

Nohva squeezes her eyes shut. He's having fun, _has_ had his fun and with her help.

_‘It will be worse if I let it kill me.’_

And Zane? Didn’t they tell her the demons took over the body but the person was still inside somewhere? Unable to do anything?

The Latin comes to mind easily. That exorcism Bobby made her memorize…

The demon doesn’t expect the words that come out of her mouth, pain lances through it like lashes of fire and he arches off the bed and her. Nohva breaks his hold with a head butt. She doesn’t stop reciting the words as she scrambles off the mattress. The demon grabs at her, snarling in pain and gets a kick that sends it into the wall where the plaster crumbles. There's a sob caught in her throat as Nohva scrambles to her feet, her goal is to get to the door.

 _‘How didn’t I know?’_ Why didn’t she see it?

The steel like grip of his arm wraps around her waist. She's yanked off her feet, that sob torn from her throat and her eyes blur, tears finally falling. _‘How?’_

It slams her back into the bed. Nohva drags in a huge breath and screams the words, struggling to get him off. He's lost his grip on her arms and Nohva punches him, full Slayer strength fueled with panic. She kicks him off again scrambling to get as far from him as the room will allow. He finally hunches over grabbing his sides before the scream bows his back and the black smoke shoots out of his mouth and towards the ceiling.

Zane tips over, hacking and coughing, blood streaming from his nose and mouth from the blows she rained on him.

Nohva hesitates. She hovers close to the wall across the room from him trying not to flinch from his reaching hand.

She has to get her ragged breaths under control but she can't stop crying and that is pissing her off. Tears are no good to her right now.

He has no idea what's happened. He can't begin to make sense of what this was and Nohva knows she can't blame him for what she did with it thinking he was Zane. It wasn’t him … and … she’d jumped right in.

Nohva grits her teeth. Her feet take her across the room slowly. Her legs fold under her close enough Zane can rest his head on her thighs. She stiffens at his touch but doesn’t push him away even when his arm loosely wraps around her waist.

He's trying to apologize, that he tried to fight for control but he just couldn’t…

“…it wasn’t … wasn’t your fault…” Nohva numbly explains what happened. That a demon possessed him and that it’s likely going to happen to another Transgenic if it hasn’t already or before.

 _‘How didn’t I know?’_ a single tear leaves a mark along her cheek.

N

Alec just stares at Nohva. She’s scrubbed herself pink, the wet inky strands pulled up- out of her face, she covered her bruises, the bites on her body but she can't hide the dark shadow on her cheek. She sits stiffly in the metal chair facing Max’ desk, her eyes staring at a spot just above the X-5’s shoulder.

Zane keeps himself from touching her, his body just as stiff as Nohva’s and the sketch she drew on Max’s desk while they explain why **_TerminalCity_** needs to get another mark branded on them. 

Demons.

Because vampires couldn’t be the end of it.

 _‘Hell demons?_ ’ he wonders even though he knows better than to doubt anything she says. 

Alec can still smell Zane all over Nohva even with the shampoo and soap she scrubbed with. Zane has her scent too and there's no way Max hasn’t noticed the stiff Slayer sitting in front of her. 

They don’t have to ask what happened…. 

Max is hesitant to agree but she doesn’t want to take a chance that Nohva isn't bent and her brother really was possessed by a demon.

The notion that demons exist isn't easy for Max to accept. She would then have to accept that angels exist as well and that brings up the uncomfortable question of God and where the Transgenics fit into the heavenly plan.

There's no shortage of Ordinaries who say Transgenics have no place among them. 

God didn’t create them.

Man cooked them up in test tubes.

They're abominations…. Soulless… 

“We can't afford to have one of ours hijacked, Max.” Alec doesn’t know how they're going to explain demons to **_TerminalCity_** or the need for another brand. They’ve worked too hard and given up too much for demons to come derail all their efforts.

“I’ll be leaving.”

They're surprised to hear it. Max less so than Zane or Alec.

Zane feels guilty, like it’s his fault because of what happened. 

Alec is pissed off. “You can't let her go.” He tells Max when Nohva leaves the Command Center.

“We don’t have a clue how to tell these demons apart from the rest of us.”

“What. You want me to chain her up, Alec?” Max glares. “I don’t like this any better and you heard her. She's not a hunter. She didn’t really deal with their ghouls.”

“Then we get that hunter she called to **_TerminalCity_**.” Alec snaps. He leaves the office with a last glare sent Zane’s way and he's gone.

“I know the number.” Zane offers quietly. “I’ll call him.” He gets up ignoring the sad look in his sisters eyes. She doesn’t stop him and for that he's grateful.

The call to Bobby is difficult but at mention of demons the old hunter is more receptive.  Bobby gets the point and promises to bring help. He's not going to waste any time getting on the road.

N


	3. Old Faces

**N**

It’s been three days. Nohva has managed to avoid both Zane and Alec. But her luck has run out and Zane finally corners her as she comes into the Command Center. 

Zane feels guilty and he's been trying to apologize. “Nohva…”

“Look, I'm…” she flinches from his reaching hand and feels awful at the hurt expression that crosses his face. 

“You don’t have to run away from me.” Zane takes a step away from her, to give her the space she needs. 

“…it’s not…” she wants to say it’s not about him but in a way it is a little bit. She looks at him and Nohva goes back to that moment. He's at her door and she lets him in without a word. There should have been some warning bell that went off. Her Slayer sense … _something_! “I'm trying. It’s more about me.” She hopes he understands. Because she really doesn’t blame Zane for that night. She knows it wasn’t him driving but it’s difficult. “It’s just that … I'm somehow … _twisted_.”  Nohva’s frown is confused. She twirls a finger by her ear, like she's crazy and she's been feeling like she is since she got dropped in the future.

“No-.”

“I should have known.” Nohva shakes her head at him. “It’s like this warning should’ve gone off in my head, like usual. But it didn’t. Or … I didn’t care …” she's questioning herself and that’s dangerous.

Zane nods, he gets it. “Maybe this … it wasn’t what I … what I’d hoped it could be.”

Nohva expels the breath she’s been holding. “… I …”

“I would have liked this to be more, Nohva.” Zane doesn’t expect her to say anything and with a last look at her, he turns and walks out of the Command Center.

 _‘I’m hurting him.’_  

Nohva doesn’t want to. She blinks away the fresh tears burning her eyes and straightens her shoulders. She's going to find a way to get home or she's going to die trying.

There is no other option.

N

Spike has spent the last four days going over and over his run in with the Slayer and the Transgenics. 

“So… what happened?” Xander asks once again. Spike is extremely tempted to drink him just to get some peace.

But they understand what's at stake here. They can't be sure Nohva isn't one of the evil-Slayer's.  “I bloody well didn’t get a chance to bite her so I don’t know.” Spike snarls. His frustration is obvious. 

“Look, we’ve been fooled before.” Xander scowls. “I'm not letting it happen again.” They don’t have many Actives left and Willow’s protection has lasted this long.

“Red did her best.” Spike mutters. His pacing cuts short and he hisses at the ray of sun coming through the heavy curtain blocking the window. “She left our girls with some mojo…” They look at each other. Willow’s sacrifice… she faked being possessed to get to them, to Buffy and Faith.

“We need to make sure.” Xander can't forget his best friend died, killed for freeing Faith. He still has one friend in need of saving.

“We know where she is.” Spike comes back to the table and leans his hands on the top. “ ** _TerminalCity_**.”

N

Alec hasn’t bothered her. He figures she just needed some time … but he's not patient and he hasn’t seen her in a couple of days.

He knocks on her door, it pops open. She didn’t close it right and the doors are all messed up no matter what they try to get them level. 

Alec walks in, quietly. He's not exactly sure why he's being stealthy, it’s just a weird feeling he's got. He checks the apartment; living room, kitchen and the hall bath before moving towards the bedroom door towards the back of the unit. It’s slightly open and Alec can see Nohva in the dark room. She's lying on her side facing away from him. 

She's asleep, curled up and Alec is slowly getting pissed as his eyes skim over her. He walks in, scowling as he takes note of the yellowed bruises on her back and arms and shoulders where her tank top and hair don’t cover. _‘Those are bites.’_  

Nohva jerks half up at the soft growl she hears rumbling somewhere close on her left. She draws the gun swiveling around, her blurry vision trying to find the source of the danger she feels. “It’s me.” Alec holds up his hands, he's very still, doing his best to sound soothing when he’d rather rip Zane’s head off for what he did. “I'm not going to hurt you. Nohva?” she hasn’t lowered her arm and the gun he gave her is trained on him. “The door wasn’t closed right… I just came to check on you, make sure everything is ok…”

Nohva hesitantly lowers her arm, the gun resting on her thigh. Alec nods, silently asking permission to come closer.

Nohva draws in a deep breath; she rubs at her eyes and hesitantly nods for him to approach. She hasn’t been sleeping well, or much, since demon Zane got in. She just can't drop her guard and that first night alone in the not so temporary apartment, Nohva had huddled in a ball on her couch with weapons in easy reach; a salt ring poured around herself and at doorways and windows like Dean had taught her. She wasn’t sure if ghost proofing was going to work against demons but it was all she knew to do. 

The Latin words looping in her head just so she didn’t forget the exorcism… Even now, Nohva feels more alone.

Alec sits beside her on the mattress; he studies the bites and bruises on her arm, shoulder, on her collar and what he can see of her chest- she's got fading fingerprints on her arms and both wrists. It’s his first look and Alec can't help picturing how it happened. 

 _‘Why hasn’t she healed?’_  

The Morah demon had done its damage and Nohva had healed in days…

Nohva feels the light touch of his hand on her neck. She stiffens instinctively, wincing at the sting from the bite.

Alec gently pushes her hair out of the way seeing the still fresh wound.

Nohva has cleaned it, has been cleaning it every day but …

“Why haven’t you gone to see Doc?” it’s where Alec thinks she should be.

“…I …”she falls silent.

He gets its embarrassing for her. She's a Slayer after all though he really doesn't get the full meaning of what that means.

Nohva jerks away when he leans in too close, hand clutching the gun but Alec stills, his eyes on her. 

Alec slowly puts his hand on her arm and draws her towards him. His touch is gentle, trying not to scare her more than she must be after … _that_.

Nohva closes her eyes and tries not to be so skittish. 

Still looking at her, Alec leans into her neck, closer to the bite that’s still fresh and sniffs. It’s a weird scent.

Nohva jumps when she feels his tongue lick at her. She jerks but Alec tugs her towards him again and gets a second taste. Nohva shoves her hand in his face and pushes him away.

“It smelled weird.” Alec explains and the frown on her face gets a little confused. “I just wanted to make sure it’s what it smelled like.”

“Huh?” Nohva rubs at her forehead still confused.

“Smelled like rotten eggs.” Alec tells her. “It’s not.”

“Great.” Nohva sighs, closes her eyes and lies back. “I got demon cooties.”

“Seriously?” he wants to sound amused by her choice of words but the situation is nothing to laugh about.

“It’s their signature.”

“Sulfur?” Alec wonders and gets a nod. “So why is it on that bite mark?”

“Because it bit me when I was exorcising it. Figures it’d leave me with something gross.” She grumbles.

Alec frowns, he realizes she hasn’t left her apartment at all and the frown turns to a scowl.

“That explains why I haven’t been feeling well-.”

Alec ignores the soft yelp from the bundle he grabs up in his arms, blankets and all.

“Put me down, Alec!”

“Doc is going to take a look at this and I'm going to make sure you sit still until he says otherwise.” Alec isn't about to give her a choice and starts out of her bedroom.

“Do you want to get shot?” Nohva struggles in his arms but she doesn’t feel like fighting with a super genetically enhanced Dean double.

Alec laughs without missing a step. “You dropped your gun on the bed.”

Nohva utters a curse under her breath and gives up her half-hearted struggles. She's tired and cranky and it’s not worth the effort.

N

The old van that pulls up to the gate at **_TerminalCity_** purrs like a well oiled machine. The face scowling from the passenger seat is wrinkled, sporting some age marks and whiskered. The truckers cap on his head is so faded, there's no way to tell its original color and it’s likely the Ordinary can't remember it anyway. 

When they're asked what they want he snaps at the Transgenic. After all, he didn’t drive up to Seattle on a whim just because. 

“We were asked to come…”

“Where's Nohva?” the old man snaps.

“You can't come in without getting your shots.”

The old man doesn’t like that and the Transgenic explains it’s for their own health because of the toxins in **_TerminalCity_**.

“Sure. That’s not a problem.”

“Since when are you so keen on getting poked?” the old man demands.

The Transgenic shakes his head and nods for the gates to open. They're pointed to a parking spot and led to a small office. They don’t wait long before there's a lizard man chomping on a cigar coming through the door and taking a position across from them against the wall.

A cute ‘nurse’ in jeans, combat boots and white t-shit with a red cross stamped on the front walks in with a silver case. She sets it on the table and opens it so everyone can see; the needles are long.

“Ok,” she packs up once she's done. “If you’ll just follow Mole…”

The lizard man grumbles, shoves off the wall and heads out the door. He takes them to another small office and waits with them until a young woman shows up.

“I'm Max.” she doesn’t bother with small talk and gets right to the point. “These demons… or -.”

“Sorry.” The hunter cuts in, his tone polite though firm. “We’d like to see Nohva.”

N

She feels better, that’s the first thing Nohva notices. Of course she's still groggy but she's aware there is someone sitting beside her. She shifts, pushing up on her elbows only to get forced back into the pillows.

“Quit being so pushy, Alec.” Nohva grumbles. She frowns, thinks its Alec though he's got a scruffy looking jaw-

“Who’s Alec?”

Nohva freezes.

It feels like her heart is being squeezed.

“Hey,” he's worried. “Nohva?” but she's just staring at him wide eyed.

Nohva closes her eyes, squeezes them tight and expels the breath she's been holding. “He's dead.

They killed him. I know they did.”

“It’s me.” He utters a sad chuckle, a calloused hand smoothing across her cheek and her eyes snap open. “I'm right here, sweet heart.” And he's explaining how he's been dead a dozen times over and still breathing. About the shifter, and the explosion at the station and Nohva is really looking at him, her eyes a bright shade of deep violet-blue. “You're just like I remember you.” His voice drops to a husky whisper so familiar. “No different than when I last saw you.” He smiles at her, a sadness filling him mixing with excited happiness at her presence. 

“Dean…” that’s so him and she sits up so fast he's got his arms full. Nohva is crying, happy, excited, scared that it’s just a dream and Dean is whispering everything is fine.

“Please don’t cry.” He begs earning a watery laugh from the girl in his arms that at one time had the possibility of being more to him than what he could allow himself to have.

“I just hope I don’t wake up.” Nohva curls her fingers into the soft material of the shirt at his back. “I just can't deal with that.”

Dean chuckles sadly, he shakes his head and Nohva reluctantly loosens her hold on him enough that he can take a seat beside her in the small hospital bed.

The door opens and a shaggy mop of hair pops in. “You already made her cry?” he mock scowls at Dean and Nohva laughs. 

“Sam?” she sounds so hopeful, her eyes wandering the length and breadth of this man she remembers. His hair is still in the same style, the dark locks threaded with silver and gray that oddly enhances his good looks.

He stands aside holding the door open for the old man with the cane that comes in after him. “Bobby?” fresh tears shimmer on her cheeks and Nohva can't help it. Finally, she's got people who know her.

And Bobby looks all kinds of frail – grumpy and ornery as all hell when Sam pulls up the chair for him to sit on.

Bobby gets right to business. “What the hell is going with these demons? Because once we take care of that I got questions about how you got _Back to the Futured_.”

“Too much time watching ‘Dean TV’?” Nohva notes with a side glance at Dean.

N

Alec has been staring at Dean the last twenty minutes. He thinks the Ordinary is old and yet he can't deny the resemblance.

Dean stares right back at Alec, its creepy how the kid looks like a young him.

Sam is staring at them both. He frowns when they move, its way creepy because it’s mirror-like and they’re both scowling at each other.

“How the hell did this happen?” Bobby demands with a scowl. They're gathered in Nohva’s ‘hospital’ room.

Alec starts to explain the process of fertilizing an egg ignoring the scowl on Max’ face. He gets started on the surrogates when Max cuts him off.

“We heard about **_TerminalCity_**.” Sam shifts in his seat. “A lot of Hunters did. Some …” “The stupid ones decided to hunt your kind.” Dean jerks his chin towards Alec, his eyes never leaving his double. “We didn’t.”

“It wasn’t ‘till later that the hunting community got hip on **_TerminalCity_** and Transgenics and the Conclave problem.” Sam adds.

“Those we’ve been hunting down.” Bobby gruffs. His attention is pulled by Dean who pokes at Nohva’s bandage. 

Nohva stiffens, quickly slaps her hand over it. It doesn’t hurt anymore and Alec tenses noticing her reaction.

Dean, Sam and Bobby can't ignore her scared rabbit reaction. The silence in the room stretches uncomfortably. They aren't fully buying the story; that Nohva got sick due to the toxins in **_TerminalCity_**.

“Demons.” Bobby snaps. “What's the situation here?”

Max turns to Nohva.

N

The last two days, Nohva hasn’t left Dean's side. She hasn’t wanted to be apart from him but she sticks with Bobby or Sam when she feels maybe this is a little too clingy for his comfort. Or when they ask her about her stay in the hospital. She appreciates Max’ cover story and she’ll repeat it as many times as its needed because there is _nothing_ that will make Nohva tell Bobby, Sam or Dean the truth.

He's different-older. There's gray in his sandy blond hair… he's aged, Dean is much older now… Sam is curious. He doesn’t know how Nohva is there, how she still looks the same as she did the last time they saw her twenty years ago.

She doesn’t mind the curious stares from him, or when Sam smoothes his hand through her hair and then shakes his head like this is way strange but cool.

Dean has been doing the rounds in **_TerminalCity_** , demon proofing.

Bobby has been in class, giving lessons on demon 101. 

 ** _TerminalCity_** is preparing for a war they never knew they would have to fight. 

Demons … they weren't supposed to be real.

N

Xander pulls up to the gate at **_TerminalCity_** and request to meet with the person in charge. It takes a little convincing and some talking but they're finally shown into the same room where Sam and Bobby then Dean got their immunization shot. 

Spike doesn’t like it.

“I'm dead, mate.” Spike grumbles. “Don’t need to be immunized against anything.” “Just…shut up, Spike.” Xander sighs and leans back in his chair.

The door opens again. “You!”

Xander looks from Max to Spike but he never gets a chance to say a word before she starts to beat Spike.

“What the hell did you do?!” Xander yells as he rolls out of their way.

“She was there!” Spike shoves his leg between them and sends Max over the table.

“With the Active? This is her?” Xander turns to the door where more Transgenics show up, two males walk in.

“No, it’s not her!” Spike scowls.

“Wait!” Xander holds his hands up. “Wait, wait, wait! I can explain!”

Max halts mid strike. Krit and Zane are slightly behind her, just waiting for her signal.

“Talk.”

“We come in peace?” Spike ignores the scowls sent his way and shrugs.

“Don’t.” Xander frowns at the vampire and turns towards the Transgenics. “He really is one of the good guys, here.”

“A vampire is good?” Max questions. Krit turns to Zane with a questioning look and gets a slight nod in answer.

“Well, yeah, he's the exception.” Xander sighs and finally lowers his hands. “We just want to make sure that girl isn’t an evil Slayer.”

“Evil?” Max feels her frustration level go up. They're dealing with demons.

“Yes.” Xander draws a breath. 

“He ran off.” Zane points out. “That doesn’t-.”

“I haven’t been around this long -.”

“Spike had reason to run.” Xander cuts in. “We’ve been trying to keep the few Actives from being turned evil and crazy as it sounds, there are demons hunting all of us.”

“Oh,” Zane drags in a heavy breath, his expression shuttered. “We know about demons.” “You do?” Spike and Xander are surprised. They'd thought to have a tougher job on their hands trying to convince them they weren’t crazy.

“Alright,” Max turns to Krit and gives a slight nod. It’s enough and he leaves. “Start explaining.” Its another ten minutes before the door opens again and Xander spots a familiar face. “I know you.”

Bobby scowls. “No shit.” Then he glares at Spike. “You still around?” “Not so easy to get rid of.” Spike answers.

Bobby grunts in response. He takes the seat Zane provides for him. “Where’d you go? You got the anti possession mark and never showed your face again.” “Uh…sorry?” Xander isn't sure if that’s the right answer.

“You got anything to do with Nohva being sent to the future?”Bobby demands. Xander blinks. “Future?”

N


	4. Will You Come For Me?

**N**

It’s decided.

Nohva and Sam will head out into Seattle. It’s kind of last minute-an attempt to find the platinum vampire though she's had no success in the weeks before. 

Alec tags along.

“I still think you should have told Max.” Alec doesn’t mind being the voice of reason at times. He sits with his back resting against the unpadded wall of the van behind Sam. They hadn't wanted him to go but he hadn't given them a choice. He's been thinking it through-ever since his donor showed up.

 _‘He's gotta be that one.’_ The bit of DNA that _Manticore_ had debated on adding to his cocktail because of the ‘rebellious nature’ of the donor. Alec sincerely doubts there was a voluntary donation from Dean.

“Since when are you so worried about pissing her off?” Nohva frowns at him over her shoulder, curious about the reticence she can sense off him.

“You didn’t have to come with us.” Sam adds with a glance into the rearview mirror. It still catches him off guard; the familiar features of Dean on the X-5.

Alec just laughs but it’s sarcastic and not ‘fun’. “Super Girl here can take care of herself.” He nods in her direction earning a slight smile and eye roll. “You?” he shakes his  
head. 

“What about me?” Sam frowns.

“What happens when she does find this blond and he's not alone? Nohva’s gonna deal with-.” “Hey-.” Nohva turns in her seat, her frown turning to a scowl at where he's going.

“You're going to kick their assess and the Ordinary is a liability.” Alec finishes, greenish-gold eyes never leaving her face.

There's more in the silence between them- a sunrise kiss overlooking the golden bridge and feelings that haven’t been examined.

“I am not a liability.” Sam protests affronted. He scowls over his shoulder and turns to the road- it feels like getting reprimanded by Dean and it’s just weirder than weird to be pissed off about it. “You're old.” Alec states without hesitation. He's not above taking out what he's feeling on the Ordinary even if it isn't his donor.

“Are you-.” Nohva’s eyes widen in surprise, looking from Sam to Alec and back. “Sam is-.” “Old.” Alec restates with a hard edge to his voice. “I know you're happy they're not dead, Nohva. That’s awesome, yay.” And the sarcasm just rolls off so easy it’s not difficult to notice.

“But let’s put the cards on the table. They're three old guys-Ordinaries-.”

“Who know more about this than anybody at **_TerminalCity_** and that includes you.” Nohva glares at him. “Why are you being such a dick?” that last bit sorta ends with a slight gasp for the insult and she's sorry about it and confused because it’s not Dean but Alec earned it and she's still unbalanced by them both.

“Uhh,” Sam clears his throat, his hand lightly moving to rest on Nohva’s knee. “We are old.” He tries a smile. “Alec’s right.”

“You see?” Alec snorts shaking his head. “He agrees.”

“And you're still a dick.” Sam adds glancing into the rearview mirror where Alec glares at him.

Beside them, Nohva grins. Weird but this reminds her of Dean and Sam having their arguments. “We’re also Hunters and have been a lot longer than you've been alive.” Sam continues with a hard edge to his voice. “Just because we’re not genetically enhanced super humans doesn’t mean we’re useless. Our upbringing wasn’t as harsh as yours but our Father treated us more like soldiers than kids. We've dealt with demons our whole lives…” Sam utters a tired sigh at that.  Nohva rests a small hand on his arm, her eyes filled with sadness. “Didn’t they ever stop?” Sam glances at her; the expression on her face… Did it ever stop? 

“Only when they backed off to regroup.” Sam finally says in a tired voice. So many things go through his mind in the quiet seconds before Alec speaks up.

“Its war, Nohva.” Alec solemnly states from his seat behind the Ordinary he's likely related to. 

Those green eyes look up and she sees that same heaviness that’s in Dean. “…I …can't …I need to go back. To my time.” Because there has to be something she can do about it. She doesn’t want any of them to hurt and as unrealistic as it is to feel responsible for them … Nohva does. “You can't stop a war.” Alec has no doubt about that. “Maybe postpone it, slow them down, but … war…” he shakes his head and Sam totally agrees. How many times did they try and stop their war from starting? Both sides wanted to fight.

Nohva can't accept there's nothing they can do to change things, to avoid so much pain. She sits there, Sam and Alec both silent, lost to their memories, their pain and loss… “No.” she shakes her head. “ _No_. We can't stop it … then… I'm gonna change it.” She nods like that’s the plan and for her, it is. 

“You're changing what?” Sam frowns. 

“The end.” Nohva answers. Because she's going to figure out a way for them to win the wars they're all fighting.

N

Sam stares at the building. 

Alec is looking for exits, vantage points, falling on his training with the ease of breathing. Nohva gathers the weapons from the trunk in the van, arming herself with two long blades strapped to her thighs and grabs the small satchel with her wood stakes.

“You sure?” Alec questions quietly as she comes up between them.

“Oh yeah.” Nohva nods and holds up a set of stakes for each of them.

Alec takes them, his eyes running over the Ordinary with a slightly raised eyebrow. “Maybe gramps should stay behind.”

“I can handle her vamps.” Sam assures with a slight chuckle. “And I'm not a grandfather.” Nohva doesn’t miss the slightly melancholy tone and glares at Alec. “Let’s go. And aim for the heart.” She reminds.

They enter quietly, Nohva in the lead. 

Sam sets aside his annoyance with them. He realizes why he's in the middle. He’s old. He's not genetically enhanced. And he's not magically endowed with super powers. He is a fragile human.

That doesn’t mean Sam can't be a little frustrated at being treated like a kid by _two_ kids even if they are in their twenties.

Alec appreciates Sam’s stealth. For an Ordinary. He takes the time to study his double’s sibling and wonders if there's anything they share. They're all family aren't they?

Alec places a restraining hand on Sam's arm at the same time that Nohva jumps on the first vampire.

She looks up at the pale face, her hand wrapped around the stake perfectly placed where its heart is. “Uh-oh.” It doesn’t ash.

The vampire shoves it palm into Nohva’s chest and she's sent flying into the tarp tossed over old crates.

Sam reaches under his jacket for the short serrated machete. 

Alec is slightly caught off guard. They smell … not exactly dead but close enough. They certainly don’t look like that blond vampire outside of _Crash_. 

“Chop its head off.” Sam orders stepping into the vampires reach. It doesn’t get farther than grabbing at his jacket before its head rolls off. 

Alec moves in to help the Ordinary who, surprisingly, is able to handle himself even at his advanced age.

_‘They're … like fifty!’_

All he has is the stakes Nohva gave him. Alec tosses them aside and grabs the vampire coming at him. It doesn’t take much pressure, just the right amount in the right place and …

Sam has long been inoculated against shock over what they do. But the head in Alec’s hands is…“Gross.”

“Huh.” Alec looks up; the head dripping blood and splatters of it on his jeans. The vampires converging on them hesitate.

“Why?” Nohva’s voice echoes from the debris she's kicking through. “Why are they _always_ tossing us around?” she steps out of the broken mess, blowing the dark strands out of her face and glaring at the vampires.

“So,” Alec tosses the head aside like it’s a ball and not a head. “Not your kind of vamps?” “Definitely Sam's kind of vamps.” Nohva agrees. “And thanks.” Her eyes shift to Alec. “I should’ve brought my sword.”

“Why are you complaining?” Alec nods to the blades strapped at her sides. 

“Children,” Sam shifts his stance and the grip on his machete is firm. “Argue later.” Nohva moves forward, she's got one of the blades in her hand. “I shouldn’t even share with you.” But she tosses the blade to Alec.

The vampires are all Sam’s type. They don’t ash and the pile of bodies at their feet numbers a little more than a dozen before they're done.

Alec runs his eyes over Sam and Nohva, his nose wrinkling. “You stink.” Sam chuckles. “You don’t exactly look clean either.” He retorts.

“I don’t like your vamps, Sam.” Nohva makes a face, avoiding the headless bodies. “They're messy and don’t clean up after themselves.”

“So…” Alec hesitates. “Who is? Cleaning this up.”

Sam and Nohva glance at each other. He quickly raises a fist and Nohva groans. 

Alec frowns. “Are you…? Are you playing ‘rock, paper, scissors’?”  

“Duh,” Nohva answers when again Sam has scissors to her rock. “I win!” she laughs. 

“And I'm old.” Sam turns to Alec. “I guess you're cleaning up.”

“What?!” Alec doesn’t see how that’s fair. “I wasn’t even playing.”

Nohva laughs. She's laughing and Alec is caught by the happiness she exudes in the midst of the carnage at their feet. 

He grins.

“Alright.” Sam chuckles. “She’ll help you.”

“Hey,” Nohva protests still laughing. “Where do you get off volunteering me?” “I'm older.” Sam replies easily. He gets an eye roll and no complaints. 

They handle the bodies, Sam carefully grabbing all the head and tossing them in one of the unbroken crates.

It’s all one pile of burning embers by the time the moon disappears and dawn approaches. “I'm never getting the smell out of these clothes.” Alec complains. He's rather fond of his leather jacket.

“It’s not as bad as some of the krap I've been doused with.” Nohva assures with a shudder. They make their way through the rest of the building but just as Nohva had assured, there weren't any vampires left.

“Told you.” Nohva smiles. “My Slayer sense is fully functioning.” Her smile dims and she remembers it hadn't done any good a few days ago.

Alec sniffs, brow furrowed and he's got that slightly eggy smell. “Does it …?” he sniffs at himself and then towards Nohva.

“What?” Sam has this perplexed smile on his face watching Alec’s behavior. 

“You don’t smell eggs?” Alec questions.

“Demon!” Sam instantly warns.

It’s too late.

The demon steps out from the shadow of the post set in the center of the floor. “Hello.” Nohva feels her stomach bottom out just before pain explodes in a blinding array of lights. Her head smacks into the post set behind them. She doesn’t feel the ground as she lands; doesn’t make a sound or move at all.

Alec doesn’t fare any better. That post is shattered as he’s thrown into it, large chunks landing on his back as he smacks into the ground a few feet from Nohva.

Sam is trying to hold on while the rest of his body swings above two stories of empty air from the hole they skirted on their way up. It’s a long drop and he’d rather take the stairs no matter how his knees protest. Sore knees are better than painting the ground with his brains.

The demon makes its way leisurely towards Nohva. He whistles as he does, goes to his knee and runs his hand over her cheek and down to her neck.

“Oh good.” He's pleased she's still alive. “So much better this way.” A dead Slayer certainly doesn’t do them any good. “You make such _awesome_ meat suits.”

Too bad he's not in line for one yet. He can't complain either. His suit is still young and with so much knowledge of the old Watchers Council and the New Watchers Council, a legacy only twelve generations old.

Sam tugs himself up scratching at the ground to pull the rest of his body out of the hole while the demon carelessly grabs Nohva and tosses her over his shoulder. She still makes no sound.  Sam feels useless. The demon leaves uncaring of Sam though he finally drags his legs onto solid ground. He's breathless, calling to Alec in a hoarse whisper, tiredly dragging his old bones to the X-5 that hasn’t moved or made a sound.

“Alec?” Sam kneels beside him, his fingers searching for a pulse while the pale face-an exact replica of his brothers- sends panic through him.

_‘It’s not Dean.’_

Sam’s phone rings, the echo bouncing off the walls with the familiar sound. He grabs it out of his pocket. “Dean!”

N

Xander tells them. 

Bobby listens. 

Max doesn’t move from her seat beside him. 

Krit and Zane, both on opposite sides of the little office, don’t move from their positions leaning on the wall as they listen.

Dean has the other chair on Bobby's left.

It’s like some fairy tale.

Dean and Bobby have less of a problem accepting the whole fantastical tale about how they tried to stop it…

“…It was too late. The covens had opened the portals and Willow -.”

“Red didn’t have enough time to close them all. They caught us with our pants down.” Spike scowls.

“When Willow activated the Potential's … we didn’t realize the affect it was going to have down the line.” Xander has wished more than once they'd had more time to make the choice but it was never his to make. 

“Government got involved.” Spike chimes in. He doesn’t disguise the fact he holds no love for them. “Sent the Army and an old friend to ‘contain’ the threat we supposedly were.” “Are.” Dean offers a slight smirk and gets a nod from the vampire.

“Yeah, well … they were right.” Xander sighs tiredly. “The covens that sided with us helped Willow close the portals but it wasn’t enough. The fabric of reality was already torn and we had demons from other hell dimensions coming through. We sent Actives all over the world trying to

hold them back, trying to keep things quiet, _trying_ to avoid worldwide panic.” Bobby snorts, his gray head shaking at the feeble notion they could have avoided that. “That’s the reason for all those news reports on earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, natural disasters …?” Dean turns to Bobby. “Didn’t I say it wasn’t natural?” “You said it was angels.” Bobby retorts with another snort.

“Angels?” Zane’s eyes express the disbelief in his tone.

“Douche bags.” Dean waves it off and turns back to Xander. “How did Nohva get _here_?” “We don’t know for sure.” Xander glances at Spike who gives a one shoulder shrug to the unvoiced question. “Ok, so…” Xander draws a heavy breath and turns to the trio seated across from them. “We kept the world from ending. Lost … too many girls… We know for sure some were trapped in those hell dimensions. We got as many as we could back but…” he shakes his head; the heavy weight on his shoulders seems to press him down even more. “There are still too many we haven’t accounted for. Over seven hundred MIA.”

Bobby and Dean seem the most taken aback by such a number. The X-5’s in the room aren't as fazed, in war soldiers die and the Actives no matter their age were exactly that. Soldiers. “We didn’t keep looking.” Spike explains. “No time; the big bad of the year showed up. Had to go and stop that. Then this war and The Pulse and…” he shrugs.

“Then our girls started disappearing.” Xander frowns. 

“Started causing trouble, they did.” Spike nods.

“Giles … we all thought they were going evil.” He looks at them hesitantly. “Like Faith when she first … anyway. Buffy and Faith joined up. They took some Actives to try and bring the others back.”

“We thought they might have been magically whammied.” Spike shakes his head. “Girls just didn’t seem the type. Most of ‘em, for all that trouble?” he's been around and done so many dastardly evil things … he couldn’t believe any of those girls would have been capable of the same or worse.

“We were wrong.” Xander's face hardens at the memories. “We didn’t know about …” “Demons.” Dean gets a nod and shakes his head. He had always wondered how they couldn’t have. 

“Different deal, mate.” Spike leans back in his chair. Arms crossed like this isn't some serious get together. “Heaven and Hell are your side of the problem.” “This is…” Max huffs a breath, exasperated. “Are you all bent?”

“We look in need of strait jackets and padded rooms to you?” Dean scowls. He leans on the table and points right at Spike. “You _do_ see him don’t you? The vampire.”

Spike is oh so helpful; his face morphs to the bumpy, yellow eyed, fanged mask that earns a shocked gasp of breath from Krit.

“Spike.” Xander tiredly reprimands knowing it’s never done him any good. “Look. We’ve been… hiding.” The word is hard to get out and leaves a bad taste in his mouth every time he has to admit that’s what they’ve been reduced to.

“Had to tell ‘im about Hunters.” Spike smiles, memories of crossing paths with a few bring back better times.

“Yeah, well Spike’s been around.” Xander sighs again. “I found you.” He points to Bobby who utters a soft grunt of agreement.

“You got marked then?”

As answer both Spike and Xander show their tattoos, the black ink still as dark as the day they first set needle to skin.

“Why’s it different?” Dean leans towards them, the barely there shimmer catching his eyes. “How is it different?” Max frowns because it’s the same one Nohva had drawn for them. She watches Dean yank the collar of his shirt down to show his own tattoo. The ink is a little less black and his skin paler than his face from lack of sun. “Yours doesn’t shimmer.” “So why does yours?” Dean sends the question to Xander and Spike.

“Magic ink.” Xander answers. “To hide us from demons.” Bobby and Dean nod acceptance while Max scowls at the lack of explanation.

“That’s it?” she scowls at them.

“What?” Bobby demands. “You need proof of that too?”

“An explanation would be nice.” Max turns her glare across the table.

“That’s what they're doing, darlin’.” Dean's sarcastic reply is enough to infuriate Max.

“You are just as bad a pain in the ass as Alec.” Max snarls.

“Knock it off.” Bobby orders seeing Dean open his mouth to engage in verbal combat. He turns to Max and in lower tone says; “You're right.” “What?” Dean frowns.

“You.” Bobby rests both hands on the table, his eyes focusing on Xander while ignoring Dean and his ‘hurt’ expression. “Those girls, they got marked?”

“Yes,” Xander nods. “Once we figured out …we got as many as we could but it was too late for Buffy and Faith. We’ve been trying to … _survive_ , long enough to find out what their plan is so we can stop it.”

“Plan is to possess all our girls.” Spike glares because he's tired of saying it over and over. “We-.” “ _Don’t_ know _why_ they want our girls.” Xander snaps in return and it’s obvious the argument has been going on for some time. “We can't get them out of the ones we do find and from the information you gave me when I came to your place we think they’ve locked themselves in.” “So break their locks.” Dean offers like it’s the obvious answer.

“We tried.” Spike retorts with heat. “We did arrive at the same conclusion.” His eyes slide over to Xander whose mouth is pressed into a tight thin line. “We just didn’t realize soon enough. Red snuck in, faked being possessed to get close enough to Buffy and Faith.”

“She died.” Xander's eyes are filled with their loss. “She did, however, release Faith. It was Buffy…”

The demon in Buffy who killed Willow because the witch was a threat they couldn’t contain.  “I couldn’t tell her.” Spike straightens in his seat, his eyes- human eyes- on Max. “I couldn’t risk our girls being found. When the girl asked me for…”

“So you ran off instead.” Max understands. He was outnumbered with no idea of the situation he was in. the smartest thing to do was run and have the chance to fight another day. “How many of you are there?”

Spike and Xander share a look. They still don’t know if they can trust anyone with that information.

“Where’s the girl?” Spike questions instead.

Zane stirs. “She left.”

“What?” Dean turns around, his frown quickly turning to a scowl. “When- _why_?”

“We saw them head out an hour ago.” Krit answers across the room. “She’s with your brother and Alec.”

“Sam?” Dean reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cell phone.

“Bloody wonderful.” Spike sarcastically says. “She's out there with a hunter and a science project.”

“Spike.” Xander glares though he can't help wanting to agree with him. The other side already has too many of their girls.

“Whoa, slow down.” Dean leans into his phone, his tone alarmed.

Zane pushes off the wall, his eyes intent on Dean. “They took her.” He can clearly hear Sam on the other end explaining what happened as clearly as Max and Krit.

“She's done, mate.” Spike shakes his head. “Demons got her.” He turns to Xander.

“We’re too late.” Xander glares at the table, furious at the loss of another Active. “Alec’s hurt.” Max stands and turns to Krit. “Get Doc, have him ready.” “What about Nohva?” Bobby looks up at the young woman snapping orders.

“There’s nothing to do.” Spike cuts in. “She’s buggered. They’ll put one of those demons in her.”

Bobby snorts. Because he knows for a fact they _can't_. “She's got her own mark.”

Dean gets to his feet, his cell back in his pocket. “I made sure of it.” He turns to Zane. “I'm going after her. You and the others better make sure the rest of **_TerminalCity_** is ready for those black eyed fucks.”

“I'm going with you.” Zane announces. 

“You got a mark?” Dean eyes the X-5. He'd rather not work with an inexperienced body but this one is genetically enhanced and trained. He's not about to turn down the muscle. In answer Zane lifts his sleeve to show the bright black ink on his bicep. “Do I pass?” “Let’s go.” Dean brushes past Max ignoring the scowl on her face. “Zane.” Max put her hand on his chest stopping him.

“You don’t need me here.” He brushes her hand aside, gray eyes expressing his need to find Nohva.

“You don’t have to prove anything.” Max wishes her words would make a difference but even Nohva’s assurance that she didn’t blame him for what happened hasn’t expunged his guilt over that.

“They used me.” His features harden, grays eyes a stormy silver and the anger he's felt churns in his gut. They used him to hurt her. And while he understands what she explained, Zane still can't forget it. Neither can Nohva and she's not able to disassociate him from the demon that hurt her.

It’s _his_ face Nohva sees.

And it’s why Zane lost the smallest chance he had of ever winning her heart… 

“We can help.” Spike cuts in. “It’s time, mate.” 

Xander expels a tired breath and finally nods. “We can help each other.”

N

Nohva slowly comes to. Her eyes slide shut with a blurry view of a dark ceiling before they open again and the face above her comes into focus. The flash of black filling the man’s eyes sends a paralyzing thread through her body. It’s a moment before she can catch her breath and it’s absorbed by the strap across her mouth. She tugs and finds her hands restrained. Panic sets in and she struggles harder but her ankles are bound, the band across her chest rubs against her bare skin as does the one across her waist. Her voice is muffled from the gag and the demon is laughing.

“I'm only going to ask once.” He looks into her eyes and Novah flinches from the trailing fingers he's running down her bare arm. “Where is your mark?” They can't find it. 

They can't take her over.

_‘Please, God… please don’t let them find my mark.’_

“Alright.” The demon smiles, his black eyes deep fathomless pools of pain and she knows it’s going to hurt.

The demon moves out of her line of sight, the sound of metal clinking together and then the scrape of stone fills her ears. She struggles again unable to break her bonds. She’s pushing memories of the other demon out of her mind. She _can't_ think about it if she's going to make it out of this alive.

The second set of footsteps draws her eyes and Nohva utters a gasp seeing the familiar face. She's older, her blond hair threaded with glints of silver and the green eyes of the Slayer who called the entire line skip over Nohva. “I want her ready.” Her eyes flash to black.

N

Alec utters a moan that hurts worse once it’s past his lips. 

“You're going to be ok.” Sam assures as he drives through the gates of **_TerminalCity_**.  Alec tries to form her name and the syllables wrap around his tongue until he rasps out the one word he cares about. 

“…Nohva…”

Sam pulls up to the hospital. They're waiting for him and before Sam has put the van in park the doors are opened.

Alec passes out when they lift him to the gurney. His eyes open to flashing lights, the fluorescent glow just a little harsh. 

He can hear them; Max asking him questions he's not listening to, Doc explaining his injuries but the one face that’s missing is hers and he can't hear her.

“…Novah…”

“Don’t worry.” Doc assures. “You’ll wake up in a few hours feeling better.”

Alec could care less because they haven’t answered his question, the one thing he wants… his panic rises seeing the needle but his hands aren't doing what he's telling them. Lethargy takes over and his eyes slowly close. 

 _‘Where is she?’_  Alec is sure that Nohva would at least make an appearance if she was able…

N

Max rounds on Sam with a silent fury. “What happened?” her dark eyes glimmer with anger and the hand roughly shoving him against the wall of the hospital leaves a bruise on his chest.

“Hey!” 

Sam looks past Max to where Dean is scowling. 

 _‘Aww krap.’_ Sam closes his eyes tiredly.

“Next time you think of manhandling my brother you better make sure I'm not around to put a bullet in your ass.” Dean snarls. 

“Dean-.”

“She's friggin super strong, Sam!” Dean snaps. 

“That’s my friend in there.” Max glares right back, anger flushing her cheeks a rosy shade.

“And they're both lucky to be alive.” Dean retorts.

“Hey, it’s alright. She's worried for him and …” Sam hunches slightly, eyes closing and he's got the image in his brain. “I get it.” He looks right at Max. “I get it.” He turns to his brother and shrugs in guilty apology. “I couldn’t help … he looks exactly like you.”

Dean utters a curse and expels a heavy breath. They’ve seen each other die too many times and somehow the worry, that panic that grips their insides … it’s never going to go away no matter what state their relationship is in. They’re the only family each other has.

“What happened, Sam?”

“Nohva was looking for that vampire, the one she ran into her first week here-.”

“Spike?” Max frowns. “He's here.”

“What?” Sam looks from Max to Dean questioning.

“They showed up a while ago.” Dean answers. “Turns out they were looking for Nohva. They got demons on their ass, Sam. That means Nohva too.”

“The- it took her.” Sam shakes his head, both hands running through his hair. “Why?”

“They say anything, Sam?” Dean pushes, ignoring the scowling X-5 still glaring at his brother. “No, it- I was trying not to fall to my death.” Sam glowers. “Okay, uh… it was, I don’t know, calm. Like it wasn’t in any hurry. Damn thing was whistling and … I think it said something about ‘its better this way’.” He shrugs, frustrated. “She hit that post and … she wasn’t moving, Dean.”

“She's had worse.” Dean's voice is slightly hoarse, the worry for her clear in his tone. “Come on, we’re going to get her back.”

“Hey.” Max glares at them as they turn towards her. “My brother-.”

“Listen, darlin’.” Dean cuts in, his tone not at all sweet. “I'm too old for your threats and I don’t give a shit. Your brother is a big boy. You got a problem with what he's gonna do you go take it up with him. I have a friend to find before something happens to her I can't fix.” He starts walking snapping at his brother. “Let’s go, Sam!”

Max takes a few steps towards them, anger churning in her gut for Dean’s reprimand. 

“He has a point.”

Max turns angry eyes on Logan standing in the open door.

“He's an asshole and he's going to get my brother killed.” Max retorts with heat.

“Max,” Logan sighs. “It doesn’t matter what anyone says. You're always right.”

He starts down the hallway, following Dean and Sam’s path while Max stares after him. She

wants to be mad at him too. There's so many things wrong… It’s not like her brothers or Syl haven’t said it before. 

_‘They're all I have left.’_

Max doesn’t want to lose any of them.

N

Bobby is a genius. 

It wasn’t easy and it was not quick. It took hours and hours, long nights and longer days but someone had to do it. They were certainly going to need the advantage.

They managed to produce more bullets for The Colt.

Bobby still thinks it was a fluke. Whatever the hell it was, Bobby isn’t going to complain. And that was the silver lining to their storm cloud because they haven’t been able to produce another gun with the same ability to kill demons. Dean is sure they’re missing a step in the process.

Zane has to repeat the exorcism. Dean insists. The Impala’s trunk is open and Dean just points- it’s a quiz and so far Zane is acing it. 

“Good. You've been paying attention.” Dean shuts the trunk and starts around to where Sam is talking to Xander.

 ** _TerminalCity_** is armed with rock salt, the exorcism and their fresh ink and all the lore Bobby could stuff in their heads in the short time they’ve had to prepare.

Sam looks up and Dean knows that expression. “Maybe we should call for help…”

Dean knows exactly who Sam wants to call. “No.” “It’s their fight too.” Sam protests. 

“I said No.” Dean glares. “We leave him out of this.”

“Hey, if you got a friend that can help-.”

“Listen Capt. Fury.” Dean growls. “I said we’re doing this ourselves.”

“I know you don’t want his help, Dean.” Sam eases into the conversation hoping his brother will acquiesce. “But we have no idea where the demons are hiding, where they took her and we don’t have a witch to help us look. There’s not too many hunters left to fight.” So many of their friends dead.

“My girls will be here soon.” Xander doesn’t think Dean is going to wait around. “Nohva’s mark is normal ink, she won’t be difficult to find. They did.”

Zane shifts uncomfortably. He knows exactly how easy the demons found her.

“Bobby has an idea.” Sam leads the way back to the Command Center and the side room that’s quickly been turned into Bobby’s office.

“Idjit’s still here.” He grunts in surprise seeing Dean.

“This ‘idiot’ wants to get moving.” Dean growls, chaffing under the leash he feels.

“We got a general location.” Spike taps the Seattle map set on the table. “Still need to narrow it down a bit. Shouldn’t be that difficult with our girls.”

“The demons will come out for sure.” Xander knows they won’t be able to pass up the chance at getting more Slayers.

“You call your friend yet?” Bobby squints up at Dean. That stubborn jut of his chin says he’s not calling for angelic help no matter what the situation.

“He’s still mad.” Sam sighs ignoring Dean’s glare.

“How many times is Cas gonna apologize before you get over the fact he was being used?

Dammit boy!” Bobby glares, his fist smacking on the table.

“There’s not one of those feathered fucks that hasn’t screwed us.” Dean protests. To Bobby and Sam, it’s easy to see Dean’s hurt. “I don’t care how sorry he is. I don’t care what he says. He still can’t be trusted and I’m not calling him to help us on this. I can get her back without his help.” “Uh,” Xander raises his hand as though he was back in class and eyes the hunters. “Who’s Cas?”

“He’s an old friend.” Sam sighs and ignores Dean’s snort of derision. “An angel.”

“Oh.” Xander eyes them but hey, there’s demons hunting him and his girls so… “Ok. How do we get in touch with him?” “You don’t.” Dean snaps.

“I have no problem asking him for help.” Xander assures. He’d rather have the heavenly muscle if its available.

“You should.” Dean glares. “There’s never any help from them that doesn’t come with a heavy price and it usually takes a chunk out of your ass you can’t get back.” Like Adam. 

At the door, Max pauses to watch the staring contest. She catches Zane’s eyes and gives a slight tilt of her head. “Alec is sleeping now. He’ll be fine, Joshua gave him a transfusion.”

“Good. We’re going to need everyone on this.” Zane utters a soft sigh, gray eyes on the ground. 

“Please … stay here.” Max tugs on his jacket but he shakes his head.

“I have to do this.” Zane looks up, his voice dropping to a whisper. “For her.”

Max wants to shout at him, she’s seen the way Nohva looks at the Ordinary, how they look at her and she’s never too far from ‘Dean’. It’s more than obvious even if he is old enough to be her Dad. And there’s Alec. The exact replica of Dean, young enough for Nohva to notice and she has… but it was Zane she let in.

“Okay…” Max sighs sadly. She knows exactly what Zane feels because it was hers at one time as well.

N

 

 


	5. Save Me

 

**N**

Nohva lazily blinks up at the dirty rotted ceiling. She can barely get a breath and her throat feels raw from all the screaming. They haven’t stopped hurting her and the room is slowly spinning.

_‘I'm not going to tell them.’_

She's not helping them out with that no matter what they do. She's stubborn that way. Nohva can barely feel the wounds inflicted on her body. The pinpricks along her skin are slowly bringing the feeling back and then they’ll start on her once more.

They’ll ask her first…just like every time before…and she won’t tell them where she's hiding her mark.

Because demon Buffy is a bitch.

And how the hell did this happen?

N

Zane has a dozen Actives flanking him and Xander. Slayer's like Nohva…  they arrived in pairs or small groups no more than four in each. The main force that steadily streamed into **_TerminalCity_** is left behind to guard the Transgenics.  Xander brought along a little more than two dozen.

Sam warned them all. The demons are locked into the Actives. The exorcism won’t work until the locks are broken and for that… Xander knows it’s going to be the hardest part of this rescue.

Because Nohva isn't the only one they're coming for.

Spike isn't looking forward to this, he knows Xander wants to get Buffy and it doesn’t matter anymore. He’ll take her dead or alive, but he’ll take the original Slayer. 

Spike would rather trap them. They can all draw the Devil'sTrap, have for quite a few years now thanks to Bobby’s information.

“Alright.” Xander turns to face the group. The backdrop to their pep-talk is an old office building. “You know what to do.” He misses the days of the pow-wow in the Sunnydale high school library. Or the days at the **Magic Box** , he'd even take those last days in the Summer’s

basement with Andrew’s white board and goofy scrawls…

“Not die.” The red head scoffs to the amusement of the Actives beside her.

“Draw it and catch ‘em.” The brown eyes Active beside her nods.

“So not as easy as it sounds.” The pixy cut, lavender tinted Active snorts.

“Yeah, but it’s gotta be easier with these pretty super soldiers to lend a hand.” And this one- long black hair pinned up in the anime version of Princess Leah buns, tilts her head towards Zane. Zane shifts, gray eyes wandering over the Actives eyeing him and can't help his own smile at their open looks. 

“Oogle the boy later, girls.” Spike grumbles with a mock scowl in place. 

“We finally find ‘boys’ that can handle us and Spike is cock blocking.”

“Go figure.”

“Spoil sport.”

Xander clears his throat. “I don’t need the visuals, please.” He begs with a wince as the girls laugh softly. He calls them girls but they aren't that anymore. They haven’t been girls since the day they fought to kill the seed of magic.

It’s a moment of levity that passes just as quickly as all the others he can remember with his dead friends.

N

Dean isn't happy to have Max in his group. He doesn’t appreciate her heavy handedness with Sam or the goof’s easy forgiveness just because he felt the same worry for his look-alike. Dean understands how that feels too. 

Max could blend in with the Actives easily. She moves with the same grace, gives that danger vibe…

Dean focuses on the building they’ve managed to sneak into. The sounds of the fighting are far off and he hopes his brother is still in one piece when they make it out.

Sam has The Colt. 

Dean grips the demon killing knife in his right hand.

It doesn’t take long before the Active in the lead signals, by the look on the other girls around him Dean can tell he won’t like what he finds anymore than they do. He pushes his way to the door, glancing into the room. The demon has its back to him, its busy working its torture. The sight is still familiar enough to Dean it makes his stomach clench.

He shakes off the restraining hand on his shoulder and quietly makes his way until the knife is imbedded into the suit clad back.

There's a gurgle from the chair while lightning forks through the demon. The meat suit drops at his feet and Dean's eyes widen in shock.

“Novah.”

N

Nohva catches glimpses of Dean but it’s only her imagination. The pain is too much and this is her brain’s way of protecting her from what's coming.

Its feels like dying.

She remembers what Lexa said, in the moments before she drew her last breath; the slight shiver of cold fingers ghosting over her body, the tingle over her skin and becoming light-headed. 

 _‘I'm dying.’_  

Nohva doesn’t even fight it anymore but she is saddened by the knowledge. 

“Nohva!” Dean removes the strap over her mouth. He runs his fingers over her face trying to keep her eyes open but she barely makes a sound. He grabs at the straps on her wrists, freeing her.

“She's bleeding out.” Max doesn’t hesitate to put pressure on the worst of the wounds. The knife the demon was using is still imbedded in Nohva’s chest.

“Fan out.” Grayson, one of the Actives, gives the order and the rest stealthily make their way out of the room. Only three stay behind to watch Dean and Max’ backs.

They have to try and save as many as they can.

N

Spike gets lucky.

Demon Buffy finds him.

Spike’s luck runs out just as quick and all his boasting of being around as long he has becomes dust in her wake.

He never stood a chance against this Slayer.

N

Dean clasps her chin in his hand, fingers white at the pressure he's putting on her skin. “Hey!

Open your eyes sweet heart. Nohva!”

She blinks up at him, a brief flash of violet-blue and her whisper is peppered with blood.

“…Sorry…”

“Don’t talk, baby.” Dean feels helpless and nothing Max is doing stops the blood from pouring out Nohva.

“…should… should’ve told you… before…” her smile is sad and her lips run red. “…was

afraid… scare you off…now don’t… don’t see… coulda been…” A painful grip clenches Dean's chest so tight he can't breathe. _‘She's dying.’_ He knows it. 

Dean leans over her, his lips pressed to hers in the softest kiss he can manage when all he wants is to gather her in his arms and hold her as tight as possible.

The copper taste of her lips shoots panic through him and his lips graze along her jaw close to her ear. “I love you.”

Words he'd never dare utter and she knows it.

“Don’t you dare die on me, Nohva. Not now.”

It’s been twenty years of wondering if she was alive. That maybe she’d forgotten about him and had her ‘happily ever after’ with someone who could give that to her.

“…’s okay…” her whisper brings up another thread of red to her lips. “…know… ‘m dying…” she tries to move her hand and it flops off the arm of the torture chair. Blood drips from the thin incisions the demon made the length of her arm. She can't even feel that anymore.

“Nohva…” Dean shakes her, hand rocking her head from side to side to get her attention again.

“I'm not just saying it. Novah! Look at me. You hear me?” 

“She's fading fast.” Max warns and her hands are drenched with her blood.

“Get her out of here.” Grayson moves towards him, her hand tugging on his jacket. “You don’t have to be here.”

“We’d rather you saved one of ours.” The Active by the door is one of the few that got ‘rescued’, brought home by Willow herself.

“You can help her.” Max frowns. Her brown eyes drill into Dean and his stubborn refusal. “Call your friend. That…angel.” And that last is expelled on a whispered breath because she can't ignore that seed of hope deep down.

Dean's jaw clenches hard its likely to break and the expression crossing his face reminds her so much of Alec she's taken aback. 

Between them Nohva utters a soft gurgle and her eyes slide shut.

Dean drags in a harsh breath, his lungs burning as though there's no air but his voice finally comes out sharp and loud.

_‘For her.’_

N

Demon Buffy is making the rounds. Her plans, the master’s plans, are going to shit and its pissing her off. She grabs the first Active that thinks to trap her and snaps her neck. There's a slight wince for the loss of the meat suit but even dead it'll have to do for a lower demon. Demon Buffy knows who is to blame; that one eyed freak and Buffy’s memories of Xander are so easy to pick through.

The X-5 that knocks her down is sent through a wall. The second X-5 puts three bullets in demon Buffy before she breaks its arm and tosses it out the 2nd floor window with shattering glass.  Xander backs up, one step before she turns to him and the familiar green eyes of his friend fill with black so deep it’s like they swallowed her soul. 

Pain lances through him, a sharp stab because that is not his friend. He hopes that Sam finished the Devil'sTrap.

“You have your uses.” Demon Buffy states and stalks towards him.

“Fat chance.” Xander has long given up on smart ass remarks or witty quips. It’s no fun without his friends to banter with. He takes off back the way he came sliding through the door leading to Sam. 

Demon Buffy gives chase but seeing them waiting across the room she stops. The slight curl of her lips is cold and she laughs.

“You think I'm an idiot?” her black eyes travel along the floor but its clean. Her scoff of disdain is accompanied by the finger she points to the ceiling and the gray paint used to draw the

Devil'sTrap. “Really?”

“I'm sorry Buffy.” Xander grips The Colt, the long barrel aimed at his friend.

“Isn't your aim a little too far left?” demon Buffy taunts. It brings up that long ago memory of what he said to her in front of everyone, when they were recovering, when they were scared, when Caleb took his eye and she wanted to head back to the vineyard.

“I've learned to compensate.” Xander quietly replies. The shot is loud and the puff of smoke from the barrel dissipates as lightning forks through Buffy from the bullet in her chest.

“Guess you can hit your target.” Sam breathes on Xander's left.

“Yeah.” Xander doesn’t feel any elation.

They're all gone now. He's the last…

N

Max doesn’t believe in angels. 

Demons…? 

Well, she wasn’t openly denying their existence but she didn’t really believe they were real either.

The man standing at Nohva’s head appeared out of thin air with the soft sound of feathers. His blue eyes draw her in, gaze intense as he studies her. 

His attention shifts and those blue eyes dim just a bit with his sorrow. “Hello, Dean.”

Max draws in a soft gasp hearing the low raps of his voice. It’s difficult to ignore that something is absolutely different about the man in the trench coat and tie. She takes a delicate sniff in his direction blocking out the scents that litter the room and the almost overwhelming scent of Nohva’s blood. 

_‘He smells like cinnamon.’_

And there's definitely a soft glow just around the edges of his body.

“Help her.” Dean's green eyes are hard and he doesn’t even bother with a ‘Hello’ in reply. Castiel takes a long look at Dean, his blue eyes sad. He shifts his glance to the bleeding young woman on the chair and studies her.  She's been torn- almost shredded and yet there's still a spark of life in her so faint it’ll be gone soon.

“What are you waiting for?” Max demands when he doesn’t lift a finger.

Castiel's blue eyes return to her and she's taken aback by the intensity in his gaze. “Cas!” Dean snaps. “Send her back to her time. We both know she doesn’t belong here.” Castiel turns to Dean; he doesn’t have to say anything.

He wants to, another ‘I'm sorry’ that doesn’t mean a thing to Dean. This girl… he never takes his eyes from Dean as his hand comes up and the tip of his finger taps on Nohva’s forehead.

The glow that suffuses her is blinding.

N

Xander kneels at Buffy's side. Flickers of light still shoot through her body and her eyes are green once more. She focuses on him. “…Sorry… I'm so sorry… Wills…” tears slip from her eyes and her voice is nothing but a whisper.

“Buffy?” Xander is shocked; he wants to believe it’s really her. He hesitates to touch her … it’s a light touch and her hand twines with his, grasping because this is her final end.

“It’s up to you now.” Buffy chokes out. “Xan…”

She pulls him down, close enough the last few gasps of breath are his and his alone.

“Buff?” Xander’s voice comes out in a hoarse gasp of breath. 

Sam exhales a long sigh, eyes closing. There's nothing he can say that’s going to make Xander feel better. He rests his hand on the black clad shoulder and gives a firm squeeze. “Come on. We still have a lot of demons to trap.”

N

Zane has one thought foremost in his mind as he clutches the arm bent at an awkward angle. The bone is sticking out in two places and he's losing a lot of blood.  His two story trip to the lobby via air demon Buffy certainly hasn’t helped the rest of him.

_‘Max is going to kill me.’_

She warned him not die because if he did she’d kill him for real. The thought brings a pained smile to his face. 

Castiel appears amidst the broken bodies of two Actives lying amidst broken glass and an X-5 twisted in half the wrong way. His blue eyes rest on Zane leaned up against a crumbled receiving desk for a moment before he bends to a knee and places his hand on Zane’s chest.

Zane drags in a stalled breath in pain and shock at the feel of his bones knitting together and the skin closing. 

He looks up and the blue eyes staring down on him are glowing a brilliant azure. The rest of Cas is bathed in warm light.

_‘Cinnamon.’_

Zane’s brow furrows, confused by the scent that fills him with a calmness he's never felt before. The last thing he sees before Castiel disappears is the ghost of wings spreading out behind the trench coat.

N

Sam makes his way out of the building leaving Xander and the other Actives to deal with the demons caught in traps all over the place. They will have a hard time breaking the locks but the Actives are determined. He spots Dean and the bundle in his brother’s arms has to be the girl they came to rescue.

“Dean?” 

He slows his step and lets Sam catch up, a relieved breath his only sign that he’d worried over Sasquatch.

“How is she?” Sam smoothes his hand through the tangled locks of inky hair spilling over Dean's shoulder.

“Cas…”

Sam is relieved. “So, you guys make up?”

Dean isn't amused. “She's still here. He didn’t send her back.” So, no. Dean didn’t ‘make up’ with Castiel.

They keep walking across the parking lot to where the Impala sits behind a stand of overgrown trees and shrubs filled with weeds.  Sam opens the passenger door for him and steps aside to let him put Nohva inside. 

“Dean…” Sam watches his brother very carefully handle her then close the door. His movements are precise and that says a lot of how Dean is feeling. “I’ll meet you back at **_TerminalCity_**. We’re going to have a lot to explain to those girls.” He sighs and feels even more tired than usual. He's going to wait to tell Dean what Xander said, the last words Buffy whispered to him before she died.

 _‘Another war.’_ Sam heads off towards the van wondering when it’s ever going to end. The closer he gets, the easier they are to hear.

“Can't they send her back?”

“Hey,” Sam thinks her name is Daria but he's not sure. “You guys have an angel friend. Can't he send Nohva back to warn us?”

The other Actives turn to him expectantly. Their hope is guarded but it’s there all the same. 

 _‘How am I the go to guy right now?’_ Sam wonders a little annoyed.

N

It’s the purr that finally draws her from her slumber. It’s comforting for the familiarity and her eyes open slowly to catch a glimpse of the dash and radio. Her lips pull into a soft smile and she snuggles into the warm body in the driver’s seat.

_‘Best dream ever.’_

Dean slips his arm over her shoulders, his hand lightly skimming over her cheek before giving it a quick pinch. “‘You're not dreaming, sweet heart.”

Nohva pops up in the seat, hand rubbing at the sting on her cheek, eyes wide as she notices they're on the road before she stares at him.

She takes in the man beside her. She knows him; Dean greased up giving his Baby her regular tune-up, Dean leaning back in his chair with a beer in his hand, Dean indulging in the secret _Oprah_ and soaps, Dean pigging out on greasy fries and an even greasier bacon cheese burger, Dean calling after Sam not to forget the pie, Dean sweaty from digging up a grave they have to salt and burn…

This man driving down the road is twenty years older than her – old enough to be her Father… Her heart does this funny skip, his words … and something in her chest clenches painfully; “Did you mean it?”

Dean fidgets uncomfortably; his eyes sliding to the girl bundled in his Dad’s old leather jacket. The sound of her voice does something funny to his insides and the soft look in her eyes draws a slow breath from him.  He nods. “Yes.”

Nohva can't believe it.

She was dying.

He felt obligated to say those three words the 2008 version of him would _never_ dare utter… _‘It’s not real.’_ She has this disappointed expression for just a moment before she scoots closer to him. “Pull over.” Dean frowns. 

“Right now, Dean. Pull over.” Nohva urges, her hand sliding over his on the steering wheel. Once the Impala is off the road and it’s in park she slips onto his lap and Dean gets a long drawn out kiss from the girl he last saw twenty years ago.

She's alive and the panic that had filled him seeing her life slowly ebb out of her finally gives to relief.

The leather jacket gives a soft sound against her skin as it slips down her shoulder. Dean gives it a little tug, his teeth tugging on her lip earning a soft moan- _‘No. No. No…. damn.’_

Dean groans but he forces himself to stop before they end up in the back seat. He doubts he’d be able to make it _over_ the seat though with Nohva’s Slayer strength… well, he just might.

“We can't.” Dean mutters against her lips.

“Sure we can.” Nohva slips her hand down to his waist and Dean quickly sets her back on the seat and scoots into the door. 

Nohva blinks; he looks like a scared teenager- the girl in this situation. “What… are you…?” “I'm way too old for you, Nohva.” Dean wipes a hand over his face and turns to look at the road. “I’ll get Cas to send you back.”

“Wait,” Nohva huffs a breath. “Ok, who is Cas?” she’ll start with that because …

“He's an angel.” Dean replies and his features pull into a scowl. “He pulled my ass out of hell a little too late-. Never mind. It’ll be easier to go over this once at **_TerminalCity_** instead of individually.” He reaches for the gear shift and Nohva quickly grabs his hand back. “Wait a damn minute.” She frowns. “Angels, Dean?” because he says it so nonchalant like. “Never mind.” She shakes her head, and scoots towards him again. “Angels can wait… I don’t-. I don’t want to go back yet, Dean.” 

“There are a lot of things you need to know before Cas sends you back to 2008.” Dean turns towards her. The silence stretching as the sun begins to cast the sky in gray light. He reaches up and skims the back of his hand down the side of her face. “Why not?”

Nohva looks at him, her expression saying he's an idiot for asking. “Only because of you- I wanted to go back. To help… but you're here now.” She shakes her head and wraps her arms around herself. “Past Dean didn’t say ‘I love you’.” Her voice whispers softly past her lips. Dean leans towards her, hand tugging on her chin until she's looking at him. “Then you definitely tell him you love him.”  Her eyes widen slightly. 

“It’s not gonna be easy.” he knows exactly how hard it’s going to be. This is him they're talking about now.

Nohva rolls her eyes. “Duh.” 

He chuckles. On impulse he steals a chaste kiss from knowing she’d be willing to give much more.

“It’s not just you.” Nohva sighs sadly. “It’s everyone else, the NWC, the Actives…” that’s what he wants, to get her thinking about anyone other than him. 

_‘Message received, baby.’_

“What am I supposed to do about all of this?” 

“We’ll figure something out.” Dean assures. “ ** _TerminalCity_** is full of Einstein’s. One of them will have a plan, or two. Probably quite a few.”

Nohva tries to hide the smile tugging at her lips but she can't. She leans right into Dean, her lips stealing another kiss before Dean pulls away.

“What?” she sighs.

Dean feels his face heat up and embarrassed isn't one of the emotions he's used to suffering through. “I'm…old, Novah. Don’t you care I'm…?” he looks at himself frowning at her giggle. “Since when do you care about age?” Nohva pokes at his chest smiling. “As long as they weren't jail bait and I'm so not…”

“A lot of things changed.” Dean's eyes reflect the sadness of his expression. His hand skims along her cheek down to her jaw. He hesitates to skim his fingers any lower though his eyes wander to the softly healthy skin at her throat and lower until the jacket blocks the rest of her from his roving gaze.

Just an hour ago, her skin had been in shreds, dripping red…

Nohva places her hand over his, lacing their fingers together. She taps her fingertip on his nose drawing his attention. “I just want a glimpse of what could’ve been.”

Dean drags in a soft breath. There's a promise of so much more in the violet-blue eyes staring back at him.

**N**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End....


End file.
